The European Space Agency

26–30 January, 2026 Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

ESA Polinsar - Biomass 2026

 

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Background

The European Space Agency is organising

the 12th International Workshop on Science and Applications of SAR Polarimetry and Polarimetric Interferometry, 6thBiomass Science Workshop and 1st Cal/Val meeting



The workshops will take place from 26 January 2026 to 30 January 2026 at the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.


The workshop will be followed by the 8th ESA Advanced Course on Radar Polarimetry, 02 – 06 February 2026.
For more information on the application process and timeline, visit the official event website Home – 8th ESA Advanced Course on Radar Polarimetry 2026.



Programme Overview



Objectives

PolInSAR 2026

Provide a forum for scientific exchange

Present the latest exploitation results from full-pol airborne and spaceborne systems and assess the state-of-the-art

Review retrieved bio-geophysical parameters and their accuracy

Make recommendations for algorithm development and new products

Support the preparation for ESA and Third Parties full-pol missions’ exploitation (BIOMASS, NOVASAR-S, RCM, SAOCOM, Tandem-X, Cosmo-Skymed, ROSE-L, Senitnel-1 NG)

Present innovative polarimetric applications and ideas for future polarimetric mission concepts

Report on the status of POLinSAR 2023 recommendations

6th Biomass Science Workshop and 1st Cal/Val meeting

Inform the community about the mission status and Phase-E2 activities

Present first results on instrument performance from the In-Orbit Commissioning Phase

International Reporting

Present first results of P-band SAR over forest, ice, deserts, ocean and the ionosphere

Review the state of ground based forest validation activities

Review the state of cal/val activities

Review preparatory activities on the integration of BIOMASS in carbon modelling and policy activities

Sessions

PolInSAR
  • Missions
  • Calibration of Polarimetric Missions
  • PolInSAR Methods
  • Tomography Methods
  • Applications: Urban, Land, Cryosphere, Ocean
  • Airborne Campaigns
Biomass
  • Calibration and Instrument Performance
  • PolInSAR and Tomography first results
  • Applications: Land, Cryosphere, Ocean, Ionosphere first results
  • Open Cal/Val call activities
  • Product validation activities
  • Carbon Modelling and Policy sector activities

Participation

The Workshops shall bring together:

  • ESA Principal Investigators, scientists and students working in the field of SAR Polarimetry and Polarimetric Interferometry.
  • Biomass science, international forest network, UNFCCC REDD+, carbon and climate modelling communities.
  • Users of data from current and future SAR missions like SENTINEL-1, BIOMASS, ALOS 2, RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM), NOVASAR-S, SAOCOM, ROSE-L.
  • Representatives from National, European, and international space and value adding industry.

Participation in the oral and poster programme will be decided by the Scientific Committee following the review of submitted abstracts.

No participation fees will be charged. Participants are expected to finance their own travel and accommodation expenses.

The official language of workshops is English.

Organising Committee

Chiara Colace

Olly Services for ESA

Magdalena Fitrzyk

RSAC c/o ESA

Tanja Grabrijan

University of Ljubljana

Irena Hajnsek

ETH-Zurich, Switzerland

David Hughes

Shamrock Space Services for ESA

Sabina Koleša

Rep. of Slovenia, Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport

Sabrina Lodadio

Serco for ESA

Krištof Oštir

University of Ljubljana

Tanja Permozer

Rep. of Slovenia, Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport

Ana Potočnik Buhvald

University of Ljubljana

Bjorn Rommen

European Space Agency (ESA)

Marjetka Sajovic

University of Ljubljana

Francesco Sarti

European Space Agency (ESA)

Klaus Scipal

European Space Agency (ESA)

Ulla Vayrynen

Serco for ESA

Lorenza Versace

Olly Services for ESA

Scientific Committee

Francesco Banda

Aresys/POLIMI, Italy

Avik Bhattacharya

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India

Elise Colin

French Aerospace Lab ONERA, France

Laurent Ferro-Famil

ISAE-SUPAERO & CESBIO, France

Irena Hajnsek

ETH-Zurich, Switzerland

Scott Hensley 

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA

Unmesh Khati

IIT Indore, India

Marco Lavalle

NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA

Carlos Lopez-Martinez

Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), Spain

Juan Manuel Lopez-Sanchez

Universidad de Alicante, Spain

Armando Marino

University of Stirling, United Kingdom

Maurizio Migliaccio 

Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope, Italy

Jean-François Nouvel

ONERA, France

Ferdinando Nunziata

Universita’ di Roma, La Sapienza, Italy

Konstantinos P. Papathanassiou

German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany

Matteo Pardini

DLR, Germany

Noelia Romero-Puig

DLR, Germany

Maurizio Santoro

GAMMA RS, Switzerland

Stefano Tebaldini

POLIMI, Italy

Ridha Touzi

Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS), Canada

Lars Ulander

Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

Ludovic Villard

CESBIO, France

Schedule and Deadlines

Abstract submission openingAugust 2025
Abstract submission closure24th October 2025 extended to 31st October 2025
Notification of acceptance and Registration Opening 1st December 2025
Issue of Preliminary Programme12th December 2025
Issue of Final ProgrammeJanuary 2026
Workshop26 – 30 January 2026

Abstract Submission

01 August 2025
Prepare your abstract

Abstracts shall be selected based on the one-page abstracts (at least 200 words and maximum 600 words (one A4 page, single space normally contains 400-600 words).
Abstracts should contain the following information:
– Title of the paper
– Author’s full name and affiliations
– Proposed topic and keywords for the paper
– Presentation preference (oral or poster)

01 August 2025
01 August 2025
Submit your abstract

We kindly invite you to submit your abstract/s by using the ConfTool login page available HERE

01 August 2025
31 October 2025
Modify your abstract

For changes to your abstract after submission, please use your personal login and password to access your overview page, navigate to your submissions, and make the necessary edits.
Abstract submissions close on 31 October 2025, and the possibility to make changes to your contribution.

31 October 2025
28 November 2025
Notification of Acceptance

Authors will be notified of the Scientific Committee review process outcome.
Upon the notification of acceptance, the authors will be informed of the acceptation type, whether oral or poster presentation

28 November 2025
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Contact info

For information regarding the submissions, author instructions, scientific committee and related inquiries, please contact:
Conference Coordinator: eo4society.conf@esa.int
For information regarding the logistics of the venue place, support with logistics booking, registration and the VISA invitation letter requests, please contact
Conference Logistics: events.organisation@esa.int