The use of imaging spectroscopy for monitoring Earth surface processes has progressed rapidly in recent years, driven by the growing availability of spaceborne data from missions such as DESIS, PRISMA, EnMAP and EMIT. These missions have enabled advances in retrieval methods, applications and multi-temporal observations. Regional-to-continental products and emerging global thematic products demonstrate the transition from experimental acquisitions towards systematic Earth observation.
This provides critical building blocks for the next generation of missions, including the Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment (CHIME), which will establish an operational European capability with systematic global coverage of land and coastal areas every 11 days. Preparing for CHIME requires robust retrieval algorithms, scalable processing, well-characterised uncertainties, calibration and validation strategies, reference datasets, and methods exploiting spatial and temporal observations in combination with other Copernicus and international missions.
This session focuses on preparing for future global and operational imaging spectroscopy missions through novel methods, products and applications transferable and scalable from current missions to future observing systems. We welcome regional-to-global contributions addressing agriculture, vegetation and forestry, biodiversity and ecosystems, soils, minerals and raw materials, coastal and inland waters, environmental degradation and hazards, and the cryosphere.
Contributions using current spaceborne imaging spectroscopy as precursors for CHIME and other future missions like NASA EAGLE VSWIR are encouraged, including multi-mission harmonisation, time-series analysis, large-scale processing, retrieval robustness and transferability, uncertainty, and synergies with Sentinel and other Earth observation data. Large-scale field campaigns, calibration and validation activities, spectral reference databases and regional in-situ initiatives supporting operational use of imaging spectroscopy data are equally relevant.
The session also welcomes contributions on ongoing international coordination to strengthen interoperability and synergies among current and future missions. By bringing together mission teams, algorithm developers, application scientists and users, it aims to advance sustained, interoperable and operational global imaging spectroscopy in support of Earth System Science and applications.