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POLARIS
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“But whatever interest all
these observations may possess, they do not possess that scientific value,
even supported by a long column of figures, which under other circumstances
might have been the case. They only furnish us with a picture of the extreme effects
of the forces of nature in the Arctic regions, but leave us completely in the
dark with respect to their causes” (C. Weyprecht 1882) |
POLARIS – Polar Observations by Laser Altimetry, Radar Interferometry and Stereometry[1]
POLARIS is
a collaborative research devoted to studying mid-term (annual to centennial)
fluctuations in polar resources of ice and snow from remote sensing and ground
data. This internationally coordinated initiative
follows on the ESA IPY AO projects IDs. 4085, 4272 endorsed by ESA in 2007.
POLARIS will be carried out in the period of
IX.2007 - III.2009 thus essentially covering time frame of the 4th
International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-09.
This is the first time that a research effort on Earth Observation (EO) will be
held at the ISSI premises in
Polar idea of the POLARIS project is to
investigate climate- and gravity-driven fluctuations in snow & ice
resources, to map and analyze glacier dynamics
in the European Arctic Sector, and to study related impacts on the sea level
change in the Arctic Basin using remote sensing methods of satellite altimetry,
radar interferometry stereometry and
gradiometry (http://eopi.esa.int/esa/esa
® search ID.4085, ID.4127 and ID.4272).
Main objectives of the
research are presently formulated as follows (20.09.2007)
1) to establish
the research frameworks for studying fluctuations in snow and ice resources and
their causes from remote sensing and ground data, in particular
- to build a strong research consortium,
- to formulate cooperative research concepts of
European priority,
- to design an implementation structure (lead users!),
- to highlight and to promote the initiative,
2) to compile and to submit competitive research proposals to relevant
scientific programmes, consortia and funding agencies,
3) to devise an optimal acquisition strategy for relevant spaceborne sensors, to make better use
of observational archives, and to demonstrate the value and potential of EO
missions with respect to cryosphere and global change.
The POLARIS consortium includes (preliminarily) the
following team members:
- Alfred
Wegener Institute,
- Danish
Meteorological Institute & Climate Centre,
- ESA
ESTEC, the
- ETH
- GAMMA
Remote Sensing,
- Institute
for Marine and Atmospheric Research,
- Joanneum
Research,
- Scott
Polar Research Institute,
- TU
The cumulative research expertise comprises polar remote sensing, geodesy, glaciology, meteorology / climatology and oceanography, glacier cartography, image processing and research management.
The POLARIS research is oriented so to provide an essential support with value-added remote sensing products /services to the GLACIODYN research project, which has been fully endorsed by the IPY Joint Committee (http://www.phys.uu.nl/~wwwimau/research/ice_climate/iasc_wag/glaciodyn.html).
POLARIS
Group at the first meeting in
Compiled by
A.Sharov,