Land Surface Analysis (LSA SAF)

Using remotely sensed data for land, land-atmosphere interactions and biosphere applications

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Satellite Application Facilities (SAFs)

Utilising specialist expertise from the Member States, Satellite Application Facilities (SAFs) are dedicated centres of excellence for processing satellite data.

Top of the atmosphere view from ISS. Credit: ISS/NASA

Atmospheric Composition monitoring (AC SAF)

The AC SAF processes satellite data on ozone, other trace gases, aerosols and ultraviolet data.

Climate monitoring (CM SAF)

The CM SAF generates and archives high-quality climate datasets.

Ocean and Sea Ice (OSI SAF)

The OSI SAF provides comprehensive information on the ocean-atmosphere interface.

Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP SAF)

The NWP SAF supports the interface between satellite data and European activities in NWP.

Radio Occultation Meteorology (ROM SAF)

The ROM SAF generates and archives high-quality GNSS Radio Occultation (RO) data for NWP.

Support to Nowcasting and Very Short Range Forecasting (NWC SAF)

Nowcasting is a weather forecast for the next few hours, based on current information.

Flooded street in England. Credit: Brian Jackson

Support to Operational Hydrology and Water Management (H SAF)

The H SAF generates and archives datasets and products for operational hydrological applications.

The Land Surface Analysis Satellite Application Facility (LSA SAF) provides an in-depth look at the Earth's surface, including vegetation and wildfires.

Last Updated

26 September 2023

Published on

16 June 2020

The LSA SAF uses satellite observations to offer vital information for agriculture, forestry, land use planning and disaster management. By analysing parameters such as evapotranspiration, fire detection, and land surface temperature, the LSA SAF supports the monitoring and prediction of environmental changes. It aids in improving sustainable land management practices and helps forecast natural hazards like droughts or floods.

Find out more about the LSA SAF here.

SAF leader and consortium

Leading entity

Instituto Portugues do Mar e da Atmosfera, Portugal

Consortium members

Météo-FranceI d, France

Koninklijk Meteorologisch Instituut van België, Belgium

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (IMK), Germany

Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), University of Lisbon, Portugal

King's College, United Kingdom

Agencija Republike Slovenije za Okolje, Slovenia

National Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Bulgaria

VITO, Belgium

University of Valencia, Spain

Development Phase: September 1999–December 2004
Initial Operations Phase: January 2005–February 2007
Continuous Development and Operations Phase: March 2007–February 2012
Second Continuous Development and Operations Phase: March 2012–February 2017
Third Continuous Development and Operations Phase: March 2017–February 2022

The following satellite data sources are used to generate LSA SAF products:

MSG (SEVIRI)
Metop (AVHRR, ASCAT)
NOAA (AVHRR)

The LSA SAF operational system is fully centralised at IPMA, Portugal, where all products are generated and archived. Users may access products offline, or in near real-time via EUMETCast. Offline requests may be sent to the LSA SAF.

The design of LSA SAF products was initially driven by the needs of the meteorological, particularly NWP, community. There is, however, a growing number of other important areas, including agricultural and forestry applications, land use, and the broader topics of climate and environment monitoring.