ESA Arctic ice campaign takes off

Terra Daily: To guarantee ESA's CryoSat mission is delivering the best data possible, scientists have set out on a major expedition to the Arctic - part of a collaborative effort between ESA and NASA to gather ice measurements as the satellite orbits above. CryoSat was launched a year ago today to monitor the changes in the thickness of marine ice in the polar oceans and in the vast ice sheets that blanket Greenland and Antarctica.

Orbiting closer to the poles than any other satellite and carrying the first radar altimeter of its kind, CryoSat is providing scientists with the data they need to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between ice and climate change. As with any Earth observation mission, it is important to validate the readings acquired from space. This involves comparing the satellite data with measurements taken in situ, usually on the ground and from the air.

For CryoSat, that means sending teams to one of the harshest environments on Earth. Scientists embarking on this campaign to the Arctic are not only facing the physical challenges of working in a bitterly cold and hostile environment, but also a huge logistical undertaking….

The north pole in a 2000 satellite image from NASA