The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami was a major natural disaster that occurred in Japan on March 11, 2011.

An accelerometer is a device that measures acceleration forces.

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, located almost entirely within the Antarctic Circle.

Biomass is a renewable source of energy derived from organic materials, such as plants, animal waste, and wood.

CryoSat is an ESA programme to monitor variations in the extent and thickness of polar ice through use of a satellite in low Earth orbit.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun in our solar system and the only known celestial body to support life.

EarthCARE (derived from Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer) is a joint European/Japanese (ESA / JAXA / NICT) satellite, the sixth of ESA's Earth Explorer Programme.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to space exploration and scientific research.