ESA - CryoSat - Earth’s changing ice

CryoSat at a glance

An Earth Explorer CryoSat: an icy mission

Earth’s changing ice

Facts and figures

About the satellite

Platform Instruments

About the launch

Launch site Launcher After launch

Meet the team

Richard Francis - Project Manager Tommaso Parrinello - Mission Manager Duncan Wingham, Lead Investigator Klaus Köble, EADS Astrium Project Manager Mark Drinkwater, Mission Scientist Bill Simpson, Launch Campaign Manager Nic Mardle, Spacecraft Operations Manager Laurent Rey, Thales Alenia Space SIRAL Project Manager Malcolm Davidson, Validation Manager

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Earth’s changing ice

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Arctic ice cover for winter maximum and summer minimum for 1980 and 2007. While there is clear difference between the sea-ice extent at the end of the winter between 1980 and 2007, the summer minima show startling differences. In September 2007 the area covered by perennial sea ice shrunk to the smallest recorded since satellite measurements began 30 years ago.

Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab

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Most of the warm water flowing northwards from equatorial regions cools and sinks as it reaches the Arctic Ocean east of Greenland. Dense, cold water flows back south at depth. This circulation pattern is influenced by the sea ice that drifts from the central Arctic. Although the amount of sea ice varies with the season, it has a stabilising effect on the ocean currents. A major decrease in sea ice could have a significant impact on this balance.

Credits: ESA/AOES Medialab

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Pine Island Glacier taken by Tom Kellogg onboard the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Glacier, 1985, in Pine Island Bay

Credits: Tom Kellogg