Earth observation user needs to be addressed by CARIOQA-PMP and beyond

Kurzfassung

The Cold Atom Rubidium Interferometer in Orbit for Quantum Accelerometry - Pathfinder Mission Preparation project (CARIOQA-PMP), funded under the EU HORIZON program, shall pave the way for a future quantum-based space gravimetry mission. One objective of CARIOQA-PMP is to define advanced scenarios for such missions, which can meet scientific user needs. Therefore, as a first task, science and user requirements as well as EO parameters to be observed by CARIOQA are identified based on existing studies (e.g. IUGG, MAGIC). In course of the project both will be further refined and adapted to possible mission performance assumptions of a quantum space gravimetry mission. The paper collects and summarizes the user needs for applications in hydrology, cryosphere, atmosphere, ocean, solid Earth, geodesy, climate and globally. Further-on, for the same domains EO parameters to be determined by a quantum space gravimetry mission are identified and requirements in terms of temporal and spatial scales and amplitudes to be observed are specified. Some preliminary mission scenarios are selected for which a new way of visualizing the user needs versus the expected errors has been developed.