Exploiting ten years of MERIS data over land surfaces

Envisat´s Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) acquired multi-spectral imagery of the Earth in the optical domain over terrestrial surfaces for a decade at global scale. For the last ten years, scientists have used multi-spectral data or terrestrial geophysical products for characterizing the state of the global system and its variability. Our paper shows highlights of several achievements of the use of MERIS data over terrestrial surfaces but specifically focuses on regional to global scale applications. We first summarize daily operational biophysical parameters and present examples of their uses for the monitoring of land surface states and changes, especially related to ECVs. In addition, specific projects for deriving a series of land cover maps will be presented and we conclude on the MERIS data exploitation and highlights future applications.