Topic 3b - Measuring sea ice extent and thickening
In this video, Dr Rachel Tilling provides an overview of how satellite data now enables continuous monitoring of changes in sea ice extent in the Arctic, including around Greenland.
She also explains the implications of the changes observed in the dynamics and thickness of sea ice around northern Greenland.
Featured Educators:
- Dr Rachel Tilling
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Don’t forget you can download the video, transcript and take any quizzes available with the links on the right.
Imagery
Over topographic surfaces, the first radar echo comes from the nearest point to the satellite. CryoSat can measure the angle from which this echo originates, so that the source point can be located on the ground. This, in turn, allows the height of that point to be determined.
ESA - AOES Medialab
Sea Ice motion over the Arctic Basin. This image is a snapshot of sea ice cover each day with the date shown in the lower part of each image.
In general lighter shades of grey are newly formed first year ice and the dark shades of grey are older multi-year ice. The motion of large ice floes and the formation leads can be seen quite well during the winter months
Mark Tschudi, NASA
