GEOLAND-NET

GEOLAND-NET (GEOstationary-satellite LAND monitoring NETwork) is an international observation network research base for new land monitoring, which was selected as a JSPS Core-to-Core Program research theme “International Research Network for Hyper-temporal Monitoring of Terrestrial Environment Using Multiple Geostationary Satellites”.
With the latest meteorological satellite Himawari-8, which Japan was the first country in the world to put into operation, at its core, we will build a unified, ultra-high frequency land surface data set that covers Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, with data collected every 10 minutes, through international joint research.
In addition to satellite observations, we will develop joint research that extends to ground observation networks and model communities, and contribute to research on the estimation of greenhouse gas balances in terrestrial ecosystems in Asia, Oceania, Europe and the Americas, as well as to the prediction and countermeasures for climate change and weather disasters. We will also foster young researchers and their networks who will lead the monitoring of terrestrial environments towards carbon neutrality.

Greetings from the President

Let us promote land surface monitoring by geostationary meteorological satellites with our own hands to capture a new global environment!

In recent years, global-scale environmental changes due to climate change and anthropogenic modification have become an issue. In particular, monitoring of terrestrial areas consisting of various covers such as vegetation, cultivated land, deserts, cities, volcanoes, and lakes is urgently needed, as each location causes different environmental problems.
Until now, earth observation satellites capable of observing wide areas have been used for such monitoring.

However, conventional Earth observation satellites can only make observations once or twice a day at most, making it difficult to monitor the ground surface in tropical regions where clouds frequently occur.

If the geostationary meteorological satellite Himawari-8, which began operations in 2015, can be used for land surface observation, it is expected to break the conventional wisdom of satellite-based land surface observation.

Geostationary meteorological satellites can observe cloud movement smoothly, and are capable of high-frequency observations every 10 minutes.
Furthermore, the latest geostationary meteorological satellites can observe more types of light than conventional satellites, making them effective for monitoring vegetation and other land surfaces.
In addition, the latest geostationary meteorological satellites of other countries, similar to Himawari-8, were launched two years after Himawari-8, giving Japan a time advantage in the challenge of monitoring land areas using Himawari-8.
In addition, we expect that the combination of geostationary satellites from the United States, China, South Korea, Europe, and other countries will make it possible to realize a global ultra-high frequency observation data set using geostationary satellites and to monitor new environmental changes on the Earth's surface.

Through joint research and personnel exchange with research teams in the U.S., South Korea, and China, which have geostationary satellites, and with research teams in Australia, which has a strong ground observation network in the Himawari-8 observation area, this research program aims to establish a research base that will enable our Japanese team to lead this field of study internationally. We will also aim to establish a research base that can lead the field internationally through this activity.
Furthermore, an important goal is to train young researchers and graduate students to become internationally active researchers through this activity.
This program can also be used as an opportunity to gain international experience by visiting research teams outside of Japan, carrying out joint research, and holding research seminars with teams outside of Japan. We look forward to welcoming interested parties to this program.

Coordinator from Japan
Center for Environmental Remote Sensing, Chiba University
Kazuhito Ichii