What is CryoSat?
Europe's first ice mission is an advanced radar altimeter specifically designed to monitor the most dynamic sections of Earth's cryosphere. It borrows synthetic aperture radar and interferometry techniques from standard imaging radar missions to sharpen its accuracy over rugged ice sheet margins and sea ice in polar waters. CryoSat-2 measures 'freeboard' - the difference in height between sea ice and adjacent water - as well as ice sheet altitude, tracking changes in ice thickness.
Users can have free access to CryoSat Ice and Ocean Data (browse data).
Latest Mission Operations News
Updated CryoSat magnetometer data now available05 December 2019We are pleased announce that an improved version of the CryoSat magnetic field data (version 0102) is now available in the "#CryoSat-2" folder of the ESA FTP server. CryoSat Ice Baseline D reprocessed data available soon20 November 2019The first 6 months of CryoSat Ice Baseline D reprocessed data are being prepared for publication and will be available in the coming weeks. CryoSat L1 and L2 degraded data quality during roll manoeuvres15 November 2019Due to two small experimental roll manoeuvres, CryoSat L1b and L2 data are affected by degraded quality on 14 and 22 September 2019.
Latest Mission Results News
![]() CryoSat conquers ice on Arctic lakes05 August 2019The rapidly changing climate in the Arctic is not only linked to melting glaciers and declining sea ice, but also to thinning ice on lakes. The presence of lake ice can be easily monitored by imaging sensors and standard satellite observations, but now adding to its list of achievements, CryoSat can be used to measure the thickness of lake ice – another indicator of climate change. ![]() Expanding our knowledge of Arctic Ocean bathymetry24 July 2019Our knowledge of the depth and shape of the Arctic Ocean floor – its bathymetry – is insufficient. Owing to year-round sea-ice coverage and the cost of research in this remote region, much of the Arctic Ocean's bathymetry has remained a mystery, until now. ![]() Modelling tides in the Arctic Ocean11 July 2019We are all aware of the ebb and flow of the tide every day, but understanding tidal flow is important for a range of maritime activities and environmental monitoring, such as search and rescue operations, shipping routes and coastal erosion. ![]() Antarctica detailed in 3D14 May 2019Unfortunately ice is a hot topic when it comes to understanding and monitoring how this fragile component of the Earth system is being affected by climate change. Scientists, therefore, go to great lengths to study changes happening in the remote icy reaches of our planet – a subject that is being discussed in detail at this week's Living Planet Symposium in Italy. ![]() Greenland ice loss quickening06 December 2018Using a 25-year record of ESA satellite data, recent research shows that the pace at which Greenland is losing ice is getting faster. ![]() Antarctica hikes up sea level13 June 2018In a major collaborative effort, scientists from around the world have used information from satellites to reveal that ice melting in Antarctica has not only raised sea levels by 7.6 mm since 1992, but, critically, almost half of this rise has occurred in the last five years. ![]() New view of Antarctica in 3D11 May 2018Thanks to ESA's CryoSat mission, a new map of Antarctica provides the most accurate 3D view ever of the continent's vast ice sheet and floating ice shelves. ![]() CryoSat reveals retreat of Patagonian glaciers02 May 2018While ESA's CryoSat continues to provide clear insight into how much sea ice is being lost and how the Antarctic and Greenlandic ice sheets are changing, the mission has again surpassed its original scope by revealing exactly how mountain glaciers are also succumbing to change.
Science
ScienceAlmost 80% of the Earth's fresh water is locked up in the cryosphere, i.e. snow, ice and permafrost. The cryosphere plays an important role in moderating the global climate and as such, the consequences of receding ice cover due to global warming are far reaching and complex. Due to its high albedo, ice masses directly affect the global energy budget by reflecting about 80% of incident sunlight back out to space. |
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