Scar Inlet Ice Shelf and Evans Ice Stream

Thirty years after the European Space Agency first demonstrated the power of flying two satellites in very close formation, the concept was recently recreated. By temporarily positioning two Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar satellites to replicate the pioneering ERS-1–ERS-2 ‘tandem mission’, ESA achieved one-day repeat imaging of the same Antarctic region. The results once again demonstrate how this approach can be used to measure glacier motion and pinpoint the critical grounding line with exceptional precision.

This ice-flow velocity map of glaciers and ice streams in the Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica is derived from multiannual Sentinel-1 observations. The map provides regional context for the study areas, with the Scar Inlet Ice Shelf highlighted in the inset.

Read full story: Satellites in tandem reveal 30 years of Antarctic ice flow