29 de enero de 2025
ESA issues biodiversity and climate call for proposals
Understanding ecosystem health & climate dynamics is key to better carbon projections, budgets & nature-positive actions
The European Space Agency (ESA) has released a new competitive research call for Biodiversity-Climate studies as part of its CLIMATE-SPACE programme.
Announced today [29 Jan 2025], the call for research proposals seeks to advance scientific understanding of the relationship between ecosystem health and climate dynamics - a crucial area for improving future carbon emissions projections, carbon budget assessments, and nature-positive actions in alignment with the UNFCCC Paris Agreement.
The call aims to address critical links between climate and the biosphere, supporting the research needs of the biodiversity and ecosystem modelling communities through facilitating the use of satellite-derived climate data to address priority research questions.
To address these research gaps, ESA anticipates funding up to three studies through the current call, each lasting two years. Successful studies will focus on leveraging remote sensing data, particularly satellite-derived Essential Climate Variable records generated within ESA’s Climate Change Initiative (ESA CCI). Outcomes from funded studies are expected to support the biodiversity and ecosystem modelling communities while directly informing assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Furthermore, the research is expected to align with key ecosystem health priorities outlined in ESA’s Earth Observation (EO) Science Strategy.
Research Scope
Proposed studies should consider exploring relevant topics such as:
- The role of biodiversity in carbon storage and climate regulation
- The impacts of climate change on biodiversity, ecosystem function, and structure
- Integrating Earth Observation data and models to enhance process representation and model performance to support decision-making
- Ecosystem structure, function, and community composition to analyse climate feedback mechanisms, including shifts in climate extremes, carbon and water cycles
- The relationships between primary productivity, carbon capture and storage, and biodiversity indicators across different ecosystems under changing climate conditions
Consortia should bring together multidisciplinary expertise, particularly in remote sensing and ecosystem modelling, to maximise the use of ESA CCI data. Study teams are expected to develop open-source algorithms and workflows and collaborate with international organisations and scientific communities specializing in biodiversity and ecosystem research.
Application Process
For further details and to submit a proposal, visit the ESA tendering portal ESA STAR: https://esastar-publication.sso.esa.int/ESATenderActions/details/142646.
The deadline for applications is February 27, 2025 13:00 CET.