Advanced remote sensing of the cryosphere with a new generation of satellites

The polar regions play key roles in Earth’s climate and are sensitive indicators of climate change. Due to their remote and inhospitable nature, Earth Observation (EO) using satellite-borne sensors provides a wealth of key insights into the status of the cryosphere. Ice loss at high latitudes can have global effects, from sea level rise to Earth’s energy balance via albedo to ocean circulation to habitat and nutrient availability for biology. Satellite observations have shown that the rate of global ice loss has risen by 57% since the 1990s (Slater et al., 2021) due to the combined effect of atmospheric and oceanic melting.

A new generation of satellite radar altimeters offer advanced capabilities for retrieval of World Meteorological Organisation-designated Essential Climate Variables such as sea ice thickness and snow depth. This project will explore data collected from satellites and/or laboratory relating to cryosphere regions for the study of ice and snow properties and evolution, assessing remote sensing techniques for monitoring of climate change. Data from new sensors such as the Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission instruments, novel remote sensing concepts and satellite altimeters such as CryoSat-2 will be combined, with laboratory data where applicable. There is scope for considerable experimentation on snow and ice in the UCL Earth Sciences Cold Laboratories and potential fieldwork, depending on arising opportunities.