The primary goal of the EnMAP mission is to provide accurate and diagnostic information for research and applications in fields such as agriculture and forestry, geology and soils, urban areas, coastal and inland waters.
The EnMAP Science Team identified key scientific questions that EnMAP data will support in addressing:
Key scientific questions to which EnMAP will contribute
- How does climate change affect the functioning, composition and phenology of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems?
- What interventions can effectively combat climate change and how can their implementation be monitored?
- What is the spatial distribution and extent of land degradation and land use/land cover change?
- What processes drive land degradation and how efficient are interventions?
- How does land degradation and land use/land cover change impact food security and environmental sustainability?
- How do ecosystems change in their composition, spatial distribution and health?
- To what extent does ecosystem change affect the loss of biodiversity and the migration of species?
- How successful are measures to achieve ecosystem stability and to combat biodiversity loss?
- What areas are affected by water scarcity and poor water quality?
- How do climate change and human activities reinforce water scarcity and water quality problems?
- How can natural resources, such as mineral deposits, soils, energy sources and ground water sources, be explored and managed in a sustainable way?
- What impact does industry, mining and agriculture have on natural resources?
- What is the degree and extent of environmental damage from natural resource extraction and to what extent is the damage being restored?
- What regions are most vulnerable to natural and man-made hazards?
- In the case of a natural or man-made disaster, what areas are most affected?
