Satellites reveal changes to Earth’s icy zones

ESA's Earth observation activities are helping scientists to study the world's icy regions and the impact of climate change on widespread ice loss.

The frozen parts of Earth, known as the cryosphere, are a key indicator of long-term changes on our planet. The bright white surface of frozen water plays a role in regulating global temperatures, while glaciers and ice sheets affect sea levels.

Scientists monitor the cryosphere by using remote sensing satellites, as well as networks of ground stations. Many types of Earth observation data – including optical imagery and radar – are used to track the changes in Earth's icy zones.

By combining information collected by current and previous missions, researchers can estimate how the cryosphere is evolving over decades.

An image of the Cryosat mission (artist’s illustration).

One such mission is CryoSat, ESA's first mission dedicated to the study of ice and part of ESA's Earth Explorer programme. Now in orbit for 13 years, CryoSat has provided a detailed view of Earth's frozen areas.

The satellite's altimeter provides measurements of ice height by timing how long it takes for radar waves to bounce off the ice surface and back to the satellite.

Thanks to data from CryoSat and other missions, scientists have been able to make global estimates of ice melt. In 2020, for example, a team of researchers found that Greenland and Antarctica were losing ice six times faster than in the 1990s.

Another Earth Explorer supporting cryospheric study is the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission - SMOS. By combining SMOS measurements over frozen regions with models, scientists can better understand ice sheet dynamics.

Many assessments of cryospheric change over decades have relied on data from ESA remote sensing satellites that are no longer operational. These are known as Heritage Missions and include ERS-1, ERS-2, Envisat and GOCE.

GOCE, active between 2009 and 2013, carried a gravity gradiometer. It provided estimates of polar ice sheet thickness by combining information on bedrock topography derived from gradiometry, and ice-sheet surface topography derived from altimetry.

In addition, ESA disseminates remote sensing data collected by international partner missions through its Third Party Missions programme. One such mission is ICEYE, which provides information on sea ice conditions and iceberg locations.

The cryosphere is a key part of Earth's climate system. By using satellite missions to study snow and ice-covered areas, scientists are improving their understanding of the long-term environmental changes affecting the planet.

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