The European Space Agency (ESA) CryoSat satellite was originally launched to measure sea ice thickness for scientific research. It is still doing that but now, through a new website it is also providing near-realtime-updates on the state of sea ice.
This means that scientists will be able to monitor the impact of climate change as it happens but it also means increased safety for arctic activities. Since northern sea ice began to thin there has been an increase in economic activity. This includes scientific research and Arctic exploration as well as tourism, shipping and search and rescue.
This means improved safety for people in the arctic but also improves the safety of operations in the region, decreasing the chance of accidental environmental damage.
The CryoSat was originally launched in April of 2010. It uses a radar altimeter that can see the sea ice and measure its thickness, regardless of cloud cover or darkness. The data relayed back to the ESA is now processed very rapidly by the UK’s Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) so that the website can be continuously updated with new information collected within the last 48 hours.
“This new capability goes far beyond CryoSat’s original purpose, which was to collect measurements for scientific research. The mission is now an essential tool for a wide range of services operating in areas of the planet where sea ice forms,” said Professor Andy Shepherd, CPOM Director and the CryoSat’s principal scientific advisor in a statement.
Until very recently, the arctic has been a very difficult place to study. Researchers hope that the rapid turnover in readings provided by CryoSat may help compensate for the lack of research in a region that is changing rapidly, unpredictably and frequently not in any sort of uniform pattern.
“We’ve already found that, although Arctic sea ice set a record this year for its lowest ever winter extent, it was about 25 cm thicker, on average, than in 2013, when CryoSat recorded its lowest winter volume,” explained CPOM researcher Rachel Tilling.
Realtime measurements from CryoSat and CPOM was originally implemented to help guide a scientific expedition north of Greenland in the spring of 2014.
The value of the research will be put to the test when the Norwegian Polar Institute’s Young Sea Ice mission conducts experiments north of the Svalbard Archipelago next week. According to current measurements, the ice there is only half as thick as it was in 2011.
“After five years of exploitation, CryoSat has provided important answers but also has exposed our lack of knowledge on several fundamental scientific questions. Similarly, CryoSat has shown the importance of its measurements for current and future operational and forecasting services on all Arctic latitudes, paving the way for the development of similar missions in future,” said Tommaso Parrinello, CryoSat Mission Manager.
The CryoSat mission was the first “Earth Explorer” mission to be selected by the ESA in 1999. The original satellite was scheduled to launch in October of 2005 but was destroyed in a launch failure. The, much improved, second CryoSat was launched in 2010 and orbits at an altitude of 434 miles, reaching latitudes of 88° north and south.
