ESA - Living Planet Programme - CryoSat-2 - CryoSat mission overview

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CryoSat mission overview

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By measuring very precisely the variations in the thickness of ice on land and floating in the oceans, the CryoSat mission will lead to a better understanding of the complex interactions between ice, climate and sea level.

CryoSat’s primary payload is the Synthetic Aperture Interferometric Radar Altimeter (SIRAL), designed to meet the scientific community’s measurement requirements for ice-sheet elevation and sea-ice freeboard.

Credits: ESA /AOES Medialab

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CryoSat measures the freeboard of floating sea ice.

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CryoSat is able to measure the freeboard (the height protruding above the water) of floating sea ice with its sensitive altimeter. From the freeboard, the ice thickness can be estimated.

Credits: ESA /AOES Medialab

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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.

Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab

Last update: 21 June 2011

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