Duncan Wingham is Professor of Climate Physics at University College London (UCL) and head of the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) of the UK National Environmental Council (NERC). Today he serves as CryoSat Lead Investigator.
For scientists studying the cryosphere, the launch of ERS-1 in 1992 points a date. For the first time a satellite flies over the poles with an instrument (a microwaves radar altimeter) measuring the altitude on ices. It garners, orbit after orbit ( each 90 minutes) exclusive data, something quite impossible before, due to the wildness and extreme temperature conditions of the Poles. It also breaks a 19th century dogma stating that only explorer scientists can get good measurements. ERS opened the way to a new generation of scientists, working with satellites data.
In 1998 when ESA launches a call for scientific ideas within its Earth Explorer program, we are convinced that microwaves altimeters are the good tools for monitoring the ices. The end of Cold War has opened some classified data: the sonar measurements taken from under the Arctic ices by Canadian, American and Russian submarines quite confirm the measurements taken by satellites, which show that ice is thinning.
In order to measure that crucial effect with better resolution, I proposed CryoSat. One reason for its selection certainly being the confidence in the European fl ight proven microwaves altimeter from which is derived its SIRAL instrument. An American mission ICESat is making similar measurements. It gets better resolution with its laser instrument but the measurement is affected by the numerous clouds above the North Pole and the sharp edges of ice sheets. These two missions are complementary: our scientists teams share the data.
CryoSat1 story has been a lot of fun. We have experienced with ESA and industry a new way of working, shorter development time, lighter procedures, adaptation of standards, high integration of data, use of own judgment. We all made a great job, everything was nice until the launch failure in 2005. The only thing that went to my mind was "we got to have an other one". As space mission funding is calendar fixed and not launch fixed, my main concern in addition to the science objective was to maintain my young and idealist scientific team.
CryoSat 2 will be launched in 2009, end of the Polar year. The difference between 1998 and today is that at the time it was a computer prediction. Now we are sure that ice is decreasing!
In 1998 when ESA launches a call for scientific ideas within its Earth Explorer program, we are convinced that microwaves altimeters are the good tools for monitoring the ices. The end of Cold War has opened some classified data: the sonar measurements taken from under the Arctic ices by Canadian, American and Russian submarines quite confirm the measurements taken by satellites, which show that ice is thinning.
In order to measure that crucial effect with better resolution, I proposed CryoSat. One reason for its selection certainly being the confidence in the European fl ight proven microwaves altimeter from which is derived its SIRAL instrument. An American mission ICESat is making similar measurements. It gets better resolution with its laser instrument but the measurement is affected by the numerous clouds above the North Pole and the sharp edges of ice sheets. These two missions are complementary: our scientists teams share the data.
CryoSat1 story has been a lot of fun. We have experienced with ESA and industry a new way of working, shorter development time, lighter procedures, adaptation of standards, high integration of data, use of own judgment. We all made a great job, everything was nice until the launch failure in 2005. The only thing that went to my mind was "we got to have an other one". As space mission funding is calendar fixed and not launch fixed, my main concern in addition to the science objective was to maintain my young and idealist scientific team.
CryoSat 2 will be launched in 2009, end of the Polar year. The difference between 1998 and today is that at the time it was a computer prediction. Now we are sure that ice is decreasing!
| Aura > |
|---|
