7. Arcadia

Summary

ARCADIA is part of ESA’s Climate Change Initiative and focuses on legacy missions, historical satellite missions whose data continue to hold significant scientific value decades after acquisition. The project centers on AVHRR instruments, with records dating back to 1981, and works to reprocess and consolidate these datasets to extend the historical baseline available for climate research.

By unlocking the full potential of these long-standing archives, ARCADIA puts past Earth observation investments back to work, extending their scientific lifetime by decades and enabling other CCI projects to build on a richer, more coherent historical record.

Our contribution

We participate in the reprocessing and consolidation of historical AVHRR datasets, contributing to expand the historical baseline available to the wider CCI community and ensuring these legacy records can be reliably exploited by downstream climate science projects.

The work also involves international cooperation with partners across continents, reinforcing the project’s reach and the global value of the resulting datasets.

Key activities:

• Reprocessing of historical AVHRR satellite data (records from 1981).
• Consolidation of legacy datasets into coherent, climate-quality records.
• Support to other CCI projects through extended historical data.
• Valuation and reactivation of past EO investments.

Dates

• Status: Ongoing.
• Data scope: AVHRR records from 1981 onwards.

Partners

• European Space Agency (ESA).
• International cooperation with entities in Australia and NASA (USA).