Welcome to this course on monitoring the Greenland ice sheet from space. The Greenland ice sheet has for many decades acted as a canary in the mine for climate scientists and policymakers wishing to gauge the rate and extent of the impact of climate change. The vast and ancient ice sheet which at its deepest point is 3.3 km thick, is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Small changes in its shape, structure, and dynamics can indicate the rate at which so-called feedback loops in the climate system are having an effect, and can be a pointer towards deeper complexities in the climate system.

However, the vastness and hostile nature of the ice sheet makes it particularly difficult to monitor, measure, and observe with traditional methods and field research. Greenland itself is sparsely populated, and although there are several scientific research stations dotted across the ice sheet, supported by governments, scientific institutions, and research agencies, the logistics and costs involved in measuring anything but a few point locations on the ice sheet can be considerable.

Satellite remote sensing is used in conjunction with measurements from aircrafts and ground measurements. It therefore offers a uniquely powerful overview of changes in the Greenland ice sheet, and with the ever advancing technologies in satellite Earth observation, it increasingly offers detailed observations on specific parameters of the ice sheet too.

This course will provide an overview of the fundamental characteristics, challenges, and techniques used in monitoring the Greenland ice sheet from space. It will also demonstrate how ground-based measurements conducted by field researchers, often working in hostile conditions, is fundamental to validating and confirming satellite Earth observation data.

In this first video, Professor Konrad Steffen, Professor Andrew Shepherd and Dr Bianca Perren provide an overview of monitoring the Greenland ice sheet from the perspective of ground-based research and satellite measurements. Much of the field research featured in this course has been filmed at the Swiss Camp research site on the Greenland ice sheet, which Professor Steffen has been running since 1990. This unprecedented record reveals particular detail about unquestionable changes occurring in the ice sheet, with Professor Steffen’s personal perspective providing further depth.

Featured Educators:

• Professor Konrad Steffen

• Professor Andrew Shepherd

• Dr Bianca Perren

View featured satellites on the satellite tracking app

• Cryosat-2

Don’t forget you can download the video, transcript and take any quizzes available with the links on the right.