Author Topic: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates  (Read 34480 times)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21920
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8864
  • Likes Given: 325
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #20 on: 05/11/2011 03:12 pm »
CryoSat Greenland camp receives royal guest

11 May 2011

ESA's CryoSat team working on the Greenland ice sheet has been honoured with a visit from a Dutch delegation including HRH Prince of Orange. The visit is part of a tour to learn more about climate change in polar regions and consequences for the environment.

http://www.esa.int/esaLP/SEMU31JSDNG_index_0.html
Jacques :-)

Offline bolun

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3636
  • Europe
  • Liked: 1074
  • Likes Given: 114
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #21 on: 10/17/2011 07:02 pm »
CryoSat rocking and rolling
 
17 October 2011

ESA’s ice satellite is rolling left and right in orbit to help it continue its precise measurements of the vast ice sheets that blanket Greenland and Antarctica.
 
Since its launch 18 months ago, CryoSat-2 has been collecting data to improve our understanding of the relationship between ice and climate.

Just this year, the first map of Arctic sea-ice thickness was unveiled, and the satellite will continue to monitor the changing ice for years to come.

http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEM123FURTG_index_0.html
« Last Edit: 10/17/2011 07:03 pm by bolun »

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21920
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8864
  • Likes Given: 325
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #22 on: 01/04/2012 02:00 pm »
Ice data at your fingertips
 
4 January 2012

Discover ESA’s ice mission, track it in real time and obtain the latest measurements with the new CryoSat application. CryoSat is measuring the thickness of polar sea ice and monitoring changes in the ice sheets that blanket Greenland and Antarctica.
 
The CryoSat iPhone and iPad application – or CryoSatApp – is now available at Apple's App Store.

http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEM5Z62XFVG_index_0.html
Jacques :-)

Offline bolun

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3636
  • Europe
  • Liked: 1074
  • Likes Given: 114
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #23 on: 02/06/2012 03:27 pm »
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cryosat/SEM54JVX7YG_0.html

CryoSat breaks the ice with ocean currents
 
Quote
Starting today , CryoSat ocean measurements are being processed by CNES and distributed to the oceanography community. These products will be assimilated using models from the MyOcean project in near-real time to enhance sea surface products and to improve the quality of the model forecasts. 

Quote
During major crises such as the Deepwater Horizon and Fukushima disasters, MyOcean models exploited remote sensing data – in particular, altimetry data – to help monitor these crises.

Altimetry data is of highest importance to predict the evolution of local marine currents in near-real time.


Offline bolun

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3636
  • Europe
  • Liked: 1074
  • Likes Given: 114
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #24 on: 03/29/2012 02:04 pm »
Checking CryoSat reveals rising Antarctic blue ice

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMT6UGY50H_index_0.html

Offline bolun

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3636
  • Europe
  • Liked: 1074
  • Likes Given: 114
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #25 on: 04/04/2012 03:55 pm »
ESA and NASA join forces to measure Arctic sea ice
 
4 April 2012

Marking another remarkable collaborative effort, ESA and NASA met up over the Arctic Ocean this week to perform some carefully coordinated flights directly under CryoSat orbiting above. The data gathered help ensure the accuracy of ESA’s ice mission.
 
The aim of this large-scale campaign was to record sea-ice thickness and conditions of the ice exactly along the line traced by ESA’s CryoSat satellite orbiting high above. A range of sensors installed on the different aircraft was used to gather complementary information.

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMQINEWF0H_index_0.html

Offline bolun

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3636
  • Europe
  • Liked: 1074
  • Likes Given: 114
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #26 on: 04/24/2012 08:02 pm »
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMU55NW91H_index_0.html

Latest CryoSat result revealed

Quote
The complete 2010–11 winter season data have been processed to produce a seasonal variation map of sea-ice thickness.

This is the first map of its kind generated using data from a radar altimeter at such a high resolution compared to previous satellite measurements.

CryoSat’s altimeter makes precise measurements of its height above the ice by measuring the time interval between the transmission and reception of very short radar pulses.

Readings over the Arctic from October 2010 to March 2011 were processed to map the seasonal formation of floating ice.

ESA and NASA have been collaborating to perform carefully coordinated flights directly under CryoSat’s orbit over the Arctic, gathering data to ensure the accuracy of the satellite measurements.

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21920
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8864
  • Likes Given: 325
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #27 on: 05/28/2012 08:06 am »
CryoSat goes to sea

28 May 2012

CryoSat was launched in 2010 to measure sea-ice thickness in the Arctic, but data from the Earth-observing satellite have also been exploited for other studies. High-resolution mapping of the topography of the ocean floor is now being added to the ice mission’s repertoire.

http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEM037ZWD2H_index_0.html
Jacques :-)

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21920
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8864
  • Likes Given: 325
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #28 on: 12/21/2012 01:22 pm »
CryoSat hits land
 
21 December 2012

 ESA’s ice mission is now giving scientists a closer look at oceans, coastal areas, inland water bodies and even land, reaching above and beyond its original objectives.
 
Launched in 2010, the polar-orbiting CryoSat was developed to measure the changes in the thickness of polar sea ice, the elevation of the ice sheets that blanket Greenland and Antarctica, and mountain glaciers.
 
The satellite’s radar altimeter not only detects tiny variations in the height of the ice, it also measures sea level and the sea ice’s height above water to derive sea-ice thickness with an unprecedented accuracy.
 
At a higher precision than previous altimeters, CryoSat’s measurements of sea level are improving the quality of the model forecasts. Small, local phenomena in the ocean surface like eddies can be detected and analysed.
 
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/CryoSat/CryoSat_hits_land
Jacques :-)

Offline Star One

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 14333
  • UK
  • Liked: 4117
  • Likes Given: 220
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #29 on: 07/03/2013 05:37 pm »
2 July 2013
ESA’s CryoSat satellite has found a vast crater in Antarctica’s icy surface. Scientists believe the crater was left behind when a lake lying under about 3 km of ice suddenly drained.

Far below the thick ice sheet that covers Antarctica, there are lakes of fresh water without a direct connection to the ocean. These lakes are of great interest to scientists who are trying to understand water transport and ice dynamics beneath the frozen Antarctic surface – but this information is not easy to obtain.

One method is to drill holes through kilometres of ice to the water – a difficult endeavour in the harsh conditions of the polar regions.

But instead of looking down towards the ice, a team of European scientists is looking to the sky to improve our understanding of subglacial water and its transport.

By combining new measurements acquired by CryoSat with older data from NASA’s ICESat satellite, the team has mapped the large crater left behind by a lake, and even determined the scale of the flood that formed it.

From 2007 to 2008, six cubic kilometres of water – about the same amount that is stored in Scotland’s Loch Ness – drained from the lake, making it the largest event of its kind ever recorded.

That amount of water equals a tenth of the melting that occurs beneath Antarctica each year.

Since the end of 2008, the lake appears to be refilling but six times slower than it drained. It could take decades to reform.

The study, published recently in Geophysical Research Letters, highlights CryoSat’s unique capacity to map changes in Antarctica’s subglacial lakes in 3D, and sheds new light on events at the base of the ice sheet.

CryoSat carries a radar altimeter that can ‘see’ through clouds and in the dark, providing continuous measurements over areas like Antarctica that are prone to bad weather and long periods of darkness.

The radar can measure both the area and depth of ice craters in high resolution, allowing scientists to calculate its volume accurately.

“Thanks to CryoSat, we can now see fine details that were not apparent in older satellite data records,” said Dr Malcolm McMillan from the UK’s University of Leeds and lead author of the study ‘Three-dimensional mapping by CryoSat-2 of subglacial lake volume changes’.

With every subglacial lake, there is hope of finding prehistoric marine life. The rapid draining and apparent refilling of this lake, however, suggests this was not the first time water has drained from the lake.

“It seems likely that the flood water – and any microbes or sediments it contained – has been flushed into the Southern Ocean, making it difficult to imagine that life in this particular lake has evolved in isolation,” said Prof. Andrew Shepherd, a co-author of the study.

About 400 lakes have been discovered at the base of the Antarctic ice sheet. When they drain, they disrupt subglacial habitats and can cause the ice above to slide more quickly into the sea.

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/CryoSat/CryoSat_maps_largest-ever_flood_beneath_Antarctica

Offline bolun

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3636
  • Europe
  • Liked: 1074
  • Likes Given: 114

Offline Star One

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 14333
  • UK
  • Liked: 4117
  • Likes Given: 220
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #31 on: 05/19/2014 11:38 am »
Quote
Antarctica is now losing about 160 billion tonnes of ice a year to the ocean - twice as much as when the continent was last surveyed.

The new assessment comes from Europe's Cryosat spacecraft, which has a radar instrument specifically designed to measure the shape of the ice sheet.

The melt loss from the White Continent is sufficient to push up global sea levels by around 0.43mm per year.

Scientists report the data in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The new study incorporates three years of measurements from 2010 to 2013, and updates a synthesis of observations made by other satellites over the period 2005 to 2010.

Cryosat has been using its altimeter to trace changes in the height of the ice sheet - as it gains mass through snowfall, and loses mass through melting.

Rest on link.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27465050

Offline Star One

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 14333
  • UK
  • Liked: 4117
  • Likes Given: 220
ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #32 on: 11/27/2015 03:22 pm »
Satellite Maps Reveal Small Tectonic Plate, Help Answer Big Questions

Quote
The researchers discovered the Indian Ocean microplate, called Mammerickx Microplate and measuring roughly the size of West Virginia, using seafloor maps that combine data drawn from radar altimeters onboard the Jason-1 ocean surveying spacecraft launched in 2001 by NASA and the French space agency, CNES, and CryoSat-2, a European Space Agency environmental research satellite launched in 2010.


http://spacenews.com/satellite-maps-reveal-small-tectonic-plate-help-answer-big-questions/
« Last Edit: 11/27/2015 03:54 pm by Star One »

Offline bolun

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3636
  • Europe
  • Liked: 1074
  • Likes Given: 114
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #33 on: 02/13/2017 08:01 pm »
Four lakes under Thwaites

A novel way of using data from ESA’s CryoSat mission has revealed how meltwater from lakes beneath Thwaites Glacier drained into the Amundsen Sea – potentially the largest outflow from subglacial lakes ever reported in this region of West Antarctica.

Related article: CryoSat reveals lake outbursts beneath Antarctic ice

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2017/02/Four_lakes_under_Thwaites

Image credit: University of Edinburgh–N. Gourmelen

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21920
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8864
  • Likes Given: 325
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #34 on: 03/17/2017 03:46 pm »
Press Release
N°11-2017

Paris, 17 March 2017

Call for Media: Results from ESA's ice and magnetic field satellite missions

Scientists are convening in Banff, Canada, to discuss the latest results coming from the three-satellite Swarm mission on the magnetic field, as well as new information on changing ice masses from the CryoSat satellite. 

Hosted by the Canadian Space Agency and the University of Calgary, the event also brings the heads of the two largest Earth observation programmes in the world - from ESA and NASA - to discuss future collaboration.

Launched in 2013, the trio of Swarm satellites are measuring and untangling the different magnetic fields that stem from Earth's core, mantle, crust, oceans, ionosphere and magnetosphere. Together, these signals form the magnetic field that protects
us from cosmic radiation and charged particles that stream towards Earth in solar winds. 

During the weeklong conference in Banff, scientists will present their latest findings derived from Swarm's measurements on the a newly-discovered difference in space weather between the north and south poles, as well as new information on the high-energy
current systems that link the Sun to Earth.

The most detailed model to date of the magnetism of Earth's crust will also be presented.

Concurrently, a meeting dedicated to the latest information coming out of ESA's 'ice mission' CryoSat will take place. Since 2010, CryoSat has been measuring the thickness of polar sea ice and monitoring changes in the ice sheets that blanket Greenland and Antarctica.

Diminishing ice cover is frequently cited as an early casualty of global warming - with the opening of the Northwest Passage being one visible result. Since ice, in turn, plays an important role in regulating climate and sea level, the consequences
of climate change are far reaching. It is therefore important to understand exactly how Earth's ice fields are responding to these changes - and by how much. 

Scientists working with CryoSat data will reveal just how fast the ice sheets are melting, and how our changing climate affects Arctic sea-ice cover.

Media representatives are invited to the joint opening session for the '4th Swarm Science Meeting' and 'North-American CryoSat Science Meeting' 20 March at the Banff Park Lodge Conference Centre in Banff, Canada. The opening session will be followed
by a press briefing and interview opportunities with world-leading scientists in these fields, as well as with the heads of ESA and NASA's Earth observation programmes. 

The press event will be moderated by former Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk, current Chancellor of the University of Calgary.

For the latest news and information on the Swarm mission, visit www.esa.int/swarm

For the latest news and information on the CryoSat mission, visit www.esa.int/cryosat 

For more information on the 4th Swarm Science Meeting, visit http://swarm2017.org/ 

For more information on the North-American CryoSat Science Meeting, visit http://cryosat2017.org/   

Media representatives unable to attend the event in Banff are invited to follow the opening session via live webstream. Press can then listen in on the press briefing via telephone, as well as ask questions and conduct brief interviews. 


Opening session: 16:30 CET to 19:00 CET

Welcome address by: 
-Sylvain Laporte, President of the Canadian Space Agency
-Josef Aschbacher, Director of ESA's Earth Observation

Programmes
-Michael Freilich, Director of NASA's Earth Science Division
-Professor Ed McCauley, Vice President of the University of Calgary 

Followed by keynote address:
-The Citizen Scientist - A New Era by Eric Franck Donovan- 
-Understanding polar regions with CryoSat by Andrew Shepherd
-The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics by Michael Sideris


Live webstream coverage
A live webstream of the opening session will be available at www.esa.int and www.livestream.com/eurospaceagency

Press briefing: 19:10 CET
Press can then listen in on the press briefing via telephone, as well as ask questions and conduct brief interviews. 
Media interested in joining the briefing should request access information via email to ESA's Media Relations Office at: [email protected] by 14:00 CET, Monday, 20 March 2017. 
Jacques :-)

Offline Star One

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 14333
  • UK
  • Liked: 4117
  • Likes Given: 220
ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #35 on: 03/17/2017 07:02 pm »
Good job this is a ESA & not NASA mission as you can imagine what would happen to any such press conference these days.
« Last Edit: 03/17/2017 07:02 pm by Star One »

Offline bolun

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3636
  • Europe
  • Liked: 1074
  • Likes Given: 114
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #36 on: 04/08/2020 01:55 pm »
CryoSat still cool at 10

Quote
Today marks 10 years since a Dnepr rocket blasted off from an underground silo in the remote desert steppe of Kazakhstan, launching one of ESA’s most remarkable Earth-observing satellites into orbit. Tucked safely within the rocket fairing, CryoSat had a tough job ahead: to measure variations in the height of Earth’s ice and reveal how climate change is affecting the polar regions. Carrying novel technology, this extraordinary mission has led to a wealth of scientific discoveries that go far beyond its primary objectives to measure polar ice. And, even at 10 years old, this incredible mission continues to surpass expectations.

Offline jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21920
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8864
  • Likes Given: 325
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #37 on: 12/14/2020 12:28 pm »
CryoSat reveals surprising ebb and flow of subglacial lakes

14/12/2020

Hidden from view by ice kilometres thick, there is a vast network of lakes and streams at the base of the Antarctic ice sheet. This subsurface meltwater affects the speed with which the ice sheet flows towards the ocean. Using a decade of altimetry data from ESA’s CryoSat satellite, scientists have made an unexpected discovery about how lakes beneath Thwaites glacier have drained and recharged in quick succession. 

Meltwater at the underbelly of the ice is not only a result of frictional heating as the ice flows over the bedrock, but also from heat, called geothermal heat, coming from below the bedrock. Measures of geothermal heat flux in Antarctica are particularly difficult to obtain, and there are large differences between the various current estimates.

Meltwater under the ice can therefore indicate the state of the bedrock and the degree of geothermal flux. This is important because they both affect the speed the ice flows and drains into the ocean.

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/CryoSat/CryoSat_reveals_surprising_ebb_and_flow_of_subglacial_lakes
Jacques :-)

Offline bolun

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3636
  • Europe
  • Liked: 1074
  • Likes Given: 114
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #38 on: 04/30/2022 03:28 pm »
https://twitter.com/esa_cryosat/status/1519951514193866753

Quote
Collision avoided! 💥 @esaoperations confirm that a collision avoidance manoeuvre executed at 16.44 yesterday afternoon was successful. #CryoSat moved to avoid space debris, a 2m chunk of a rocket 🚀 weighing 202kg. We're back on track with instruments working as normal.

Offline bolun

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3636
  • Europe
  • Liked: 1074
  • Likes Given: 114
Re: ESA - CryoSat-2 updates
« Reply #39 on: 10/03/2022 08:30 pm »
Again  ???

https://twitter.com/esa_cryosat/status/1576833234989912065

Quote
Collision avoided! 💥 At 2045 yesterday evening @esaoperations were called into action to avoid a 3cm shard of space debris predicted to pass within <300 metres of #CryoSat 🛰️ The debris dates back to the space race - part of an Agena-D rocket upper stage 🚀 We're safe and sound!

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
1