EUMETSAT is set to invest more than €58m (US$68m) between 2022 and 2027 to develop innovative approaches to translate data from its satellites into services that will provide significant benefits to its users and society.
The EUMETSAT Council has approved the funding allocation, which will go to EUMETSAT’s eight Satellite Application Facilities (SAFs) to continue and expand their activities.
The SAFs are run by consortia headed by national meteorological services in EUMETSAT’s member states, working with experts from other institutions, with each specializing in a specific field, or application area.
EUMETSAT SAF network manager, Lothar Schüller, said the SAFs’ services – provision of data, software and information – directly and indirectly impact the lives of citizens in the organization’s member states, and beyond, in ways they may not realize.
“The SAFs’ outputs are used operationally, for example, for weather forecasting, disaster management, air traffic control and firefighting – areas that need this critical information on time, reliably and with high quality,” Schüller said.
“The decentralized nature of the SAF network, distributed across EUMETSAT member states, allows for the involvement of institutions and experts who can apply their expertise to our satellite data to serve evolving needs. This complements the work done at the EUMETSAT headquarters in Darmstadt.
“The SAFs were established more than 20 years ago but the phase in front of us is very special and full of challenges and opportunities as it covers the deployment of EUMETSAT’s next-generation satellite systems. These systems will massively increase the quality and quantity of data available and the SAFs are committed to converting this into benefits for society as quickly and effectively as possible,” Schüller added.
According to EUMETSAT, the eight SAFs are:
- Atmospheric Composition Monitoring (AC SAF), led by the Ilmatieteen laitos, Finland
- Climate Monitoring (CM SAF), let by Deutscher Wetterdienst, Germany
- Land Surface Analysis (LSA SAF), led by the Instituto Portugues do Mar e da Atmosfera, Portugal
- Ocean and Sea Ice (OSI SAF), led by Météo-France, France
- Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP SAF), led by the Met Office, United Kingdom
- Radio Occultation Meteorology (ROM SAF), led by the Danmarks Meteorologiske Institut, Denmark
- Nowcasting and Very Short-Range Forecasting (NWC SAF), led by the Agencia Estatal de Meteorología, Spain
- Operational Hydrology and Water Management (H SAF), led by Servizio Meteorologico Aeronautica Militare, Italy