Biomass Quantification - take 5 with Shaun Quegan from the ESA biomass project scientific team

​Shaun Quegan

​Shaun Quegan is a Professor in the School of Mathematical & Physical Sciences at the University of Sheffield and a member of the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO). His research over the last 35 years has been mainly concerned with using satellite data and ecosystem models to clarify the role of the land surface, and especially forests, in the Earth’s carbon cycle and climate. He directed the NERC Centre of Excellence in Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics for eight years before its assimilation into the NCEO. He is the joint proposer and Lead Scientist of the European Space Agency BIOMASS mission, launching in April 2025, which will measure forest biomass, height and disturbance worldwide using highly innovative radar technology. He has served on numerous national and international committees advising on climate and Earth Observation by satellites and has written two books (on radar and Synthetic Aperture Radar), together with over 160 journal articles.

​Biomass mission

​BIOMASS is ESA’s 7th Earth Explorer mission and was designed to reduce the large uncertainties in land carbon stocks and fluxes, including carbon fluxes associated with land-use change, forest degradation and forest regrowth. It is the first satellite to carry a radar instrument capable of penetrating all forest canopies and measuring their biomass and height, consistently across the globe and across different forest types. This is achieved by using the longest wavelength possible (70 cm) for radar imaging from space. At this wavelength the signal penetrates right through the forest canopy, allowing it to collect information on the biomass in the tree trunks, branches and stems, which is where trees store most of their carbon. Repeat visits by the satellite allow forest height to be measured (using interferometry) and the generation of tomographic images of the forest showing its 3-D structure. BIOMASS launched on 29/4/2025 and begins full implementation of its 5-year mission in December of this year. One global tomographic map will be produced in the first 18 months then repeat global coverages every 9 months using interferometry. All data will be open, together with data from the NASA GEDI lidar mission and the NASA-ISRO NISAR mission, the latter being a radar operating with a 24 cm wavelength aimed at measuring in forests with lower biomass.