Scientists Herald Importance of Satellite Observations
16.06.2010 - Logistics, Atmosphere & Space, Water & Oceans, Land & Geology, Ice & Snow, Flora & Fauna, Human Dimension, Bi-polar
Scientists highlighted the exceptional contribution satellites have made to the International Polar Year (IPY) and charting the effects of climate change at the recent IPY Oslo Science Conference. During the IPY, the European Space Agency (ESA) provided coordinated observations of the Arctic and Antarctic using its Earth observation satellites such as ERS-2 and Envisat.
ESA also co-led the Global Interagency IPY Polar Snapshot Year (GIIPSY) project, which observations from space and on the Earth’s surface to get snapshots of these regions to serve as benchmarks to determine past and future changes. The recently launched CryoSat-2 satellite will be monitoring changes in sea and land ice thickness.
Satellites observed some dramatic changes in the Polar Regions during the IPY, including Envisat monitoring break-up events of the Wilkins Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula and highlighting the record low Arctic summer sea ice extent in 2007. With summer sea ice extent having fallen below the extent recorded in June 2007, whether this year will see another record sea ice minimum is a hotly discussed topic.
The IPY conference also highlighted how long-term satellite data have been crucial in monitoring damaging trace gases in the atmosphere. ERS2, Envisat and Met-Op contributed to collecting data showing recovery in the ozone layer over Antarctica.
