NERC Field Spectroscopy Facility (FSF)

Earth Observation (EO) is an essential tool for understanding terrestrial, marine, freshwater, cryospheric and atmospheric processes at globally significant scales. There are enormous scientific and commercial opportunities arising from these data as the global array of EO platforms and sensors increases rapidly and more users apply the data in their applications. Most EO relies on satellite measurements of electromagnetic radiation reflected or emitted by the Earth. These space data require careful interpretation to best extract the information pertaining to Earth's environment and local field and UAV observations of spectra are a vital tool in this work. This is becoming increasingly important a sensors with ever finer spectral (eg. the hyper-spectral EnMap and fluorescence monitoring FLEX) resolutions are launched.

NERC's Field Spectroscopy Facility (FSF) will support this process, providing a critical mass of both equipment and skills in field spectroscopic operation, so enabling technical innovation and providing financial efficiency for UK science (though the reduction in the duplication of both equipment and learning how to make use of it). FSF will underpin EO analysis across environmental science domains by providing direct community access to advanced spectroscopic instruments, calibration facilities, and field support and advice. FSF will support the development of techniques to estimate environmental parameters from remotely sensed spectral measures, and for the ground validation and calibration of near-earth, airborne and satellite EO data. FSF will also support relevant and critical international activities that underpin spectroscopic interpretation. FSF national capability is linked to its unique combination of instrument expertise, direct access laboratory/calibration facilities, field work logistics support, high quality training and equipment for loan.

FSF will provide a unique facility, supplying UK scientists not only with equipment, but with the training, optical laboratory access and guidance at all project stages, from methods development to in-field support through to data analysis and publication. FSF will provide users with training to be experts in field spectroscopy techniques, to understand the measurements they are making, the equipment they are using, and how to get the most out of their fieldwork and data. FSF is committed to delivering this science support to a broad user community, from EO experts who lead spectroscopic technique development, to environmental scientists who need support to interpret and analyse EO data to address their science.

FSF will engage and support communities from terrestrial, oceanic and atmospheric domains, and across disciplines from field biology, ecology, land use, biogeochemistry, meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, vulcanology, cryosphere, marine science, food security among others. FSF will host and support a pool of modern, field-ready instruments for use by the UK science community: field spectroradiometers, an open path FTIR spectrometer, tracking and handheld sun photometers, multi and hyper-spectral UAV sensors, solar-induced fluorescence and an underwater optical sensor suite. FSF will provide a direct access optical calibration laboratory, providing users with the capability to calibrate and characterise their equipment to traceable national standards. These facilities will also allow FSF to conduct 'in-house' research and development, optimising spectrometer system performance, to produce new methods and tools to support NERC scientists. FSF has advanced understanding of its equipment and their physical measurements, allowing FSF to give its users more insight into data, their limitations and how they can best be utilised to achieve high-impact science. FSF will also support calibration of NCEO instrumentation and implementation of relevant NCEO NC science.