Last Cryosat-2 Validation Experiment in the Arctic
13.05.2008 - Other
Scientists from Denmark, UK, Germany and Canada are currently carrying out the European Space Agency's CryoSat Validation Experiment (CryoVex) 2008. This field campaign follows a number of previous operations aiming to collect data on the snow and ice properties over land and ice in order to calibrate the CryoSat-2 satellite, due for launch in 2009.
Last year, Belgian explorers Alain Hubert and Dixie Dansercoer were commissioned to take snow-depth measurements at regular intervals during the first ever crossing of the Arctic from Siberia to Greenland via the North Pole. This year's campaign, however, has gained logistical support, as airborne, helicopter and ground measurements are being taken simultaneously in three different locations: the Devron ice cap in Canada, the vast Greenland ice cap and the floating sea ice north of the Canadian Forces Station Alert.
CryoSat-2 aims to increase our understanding about polar ice cover and the way it responds to climate change. One of the biggest challenges associated with the operating of such a satellite is making sure that the resulting data are accurate and meaningful. As the CryoSat signal is sensitive to variations in snow and ice properties, it is important to understand these changes in order to account for them in predictions on the long term.
A unique experiment has been added to this year's campaign in northern Greenland, where it is believed the "cold" ice could be similar to ice found in many parts of Antarctica. Rene Forsberg, from the Danish National Space Centre, says the agency would really like to know whether this year's novel technique of acquiring simultaneous airborne and helicopter measurements can be effectively used to validate CryoSat-2's sea ice data.
