The BIOMASS mission, led by Professor Shaun Quegan from the University of Sheffield's School of Mathematics and Statistics, will use a revolutionary radar system to create a 3D map of the world's forests in order to improve our understanding of how carbon is cycled through the earth system.
The mission's data will strengthen research into climate change and may be used as a reference point by nations negotiating treaties to better manage forests across the planet.
BIOMASS, which was proposed by Professor Quegan will be launched in 2021 as the seventh mission in the European Space Agency's (ESA) Earth Explorer programme.
The Earth Explorer programme aims to study the whole Earth system: the interactions between the Earth's atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and the planet's interior as well as the impact that human activity is having on the Earth's natural processes.
"The study will essentially weigh forests - it will tell us their weight and height, and we will be able to see how they are changing over time. Understanding how the amount of living material -- biomass -- in our global forests changes over time is necessary for improving present and future assessments of the global carbon cycle, and therefore our climate," he said.
The BIOMASS mission will help overcome this problem, by providing frequent, accurate and consistent biomass measurements, helping to validate and improve current earth system models.
As well as giving unparalleled and accurate insight into forest biomass, this mission will provide information on ice-sheet motion, the earth's upper atmosphere and subsurface geology in arid regions.
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