Operational Atmospheric Chemistry Monitoring Missions (CAPACITY)

The overall aim of the ESA CAPACITY (‘Composition of the Atmosphere: Progress to Applications in the user CommuITY’) study (2003-2005) has been to define satellite components of a future operational system to monitor atmospheric composition for implementation by ESA/EU within the Space Component of GMES (‘Sentinels 4/5’). Missing observational capabilities for an envisioned future integrated system to monitor atmospheric composition have been identified and the space elements needed to remedy these deficiencies have been defined. The principal time frame covers the period 2010 to 2020 concurrent with the EUMETSAT Polar System MetOp, MSG/MTG and non-European operational systems. Some recommendations have been formulated for the space elements of a post-EPS operational atmospheric composition system (>2020). The CAPACITY final report and technical notes are available via [1].