CryoSat Data Now Open to Scientists Worldwide
02.02.2011 - Atmosphere & Space, Water & Oceans, Ice & Snow, Bi-polar
Only a few weeks after its end of its commissioning phase, CryoSat Mission Manager Tommaso Parrinello announced that CryoSat-2 data is now open to scientists worldwide. The new data from CryoSat-2 will contribute to helping researchers determine the changes taking place in the cryosphere and significantly improve the understanding of the complex relationship between ice and climate. "As of today, scientists have a unique dataset to determine the impact of climate change on the Earth's ice fields," said Tommaso.
While satellites have revealed the shrinking sea ice cover in the Arctic, CryoSat-2 brings a major improvement by providing detailed information on the changes in the thickness of the ice over time – be it on land or sea. The combination of the data on ice extent and thickness will give scientists better insight into how the volume of ice evolves over time.
CryoSat-2, which was launched from Baikonur in April last year, carries a sophisticated radar altimeter to measure the thickness of sea ice and detect changes in ice sheets with a precision down to a few centimetres. CryoSat-2 has the ability to detect minute changes in Arctic and Antarctic ice, and its orbit takes it closer to the poles than earlier satellite missions. Early results from the mission also demonstrated that CryoSat data allows scientists to monitor the changes in ocean circulation in the Arctic as the sea ice retreats.
