The Contribution of Space Technologies to Arctic Policy Priorities

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images (X-band)

Measured Parameters

COSMO-SkyMed satellites provide data to address a few priority needs in the Arctic. The data can be used, for example, for land cover differentiation, coastal erosion, and pollution monitoring and flood forecasting. These satellites can contribute data primarily for environmental monitoring and security and sovereignty in the Arctic.

Relevance to Arctic Interests

Cryosat-2 Facts in Brief

Country: 26 European member states Operations: European Space Operations Centre Status: Satellite launched in 2010

Mission Duration: Design life of 3 years; upgraded to 5 years Coverage: Primarily focusing on the north and south polar regions Orbit: Low earth orbit at 720 km altitude Key Service Areas: Web link: http://www.esa.int/esaLP/SEMBRS4KXMF_LPgmes_0.html

CryoSat-2’s mission is to study the Earth’s polar ice caps, and is dedicated to precise monitoring of the changes in the thickness of marine ice floating in the polar oceans and variations in the thickness of the vast ice sheets that overlie Greenland and Antarctica. CryoSat-2 will primarily: determine regional trends in Arctic perennial sea-ice thickness and mass; and determine the contribution that the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are making to mean global rise in sea level. CryoSat-2 provides scientists with data about the polar ice caps and tracks changes in the thickness of the ice with a resolution of about 1.3 cm. The satellite carries an interferometric radar range-finder with twin antennas, the SAR/Interferometric Radar Altimeter (SIRAL-2), which uses radar to determine and monitor the spacecraft’s altitude in order to measure the elevation of the ice and the height difference between floating ice and open water. SIRAL operates in three modes. Over the oceans and ice sheet interiors, CryoSat operates like a traditional radar altimeter. Over sea ice, coherently transmitted echoes are combined to reduce the surface footprint so that CryoSat can map smaller ice floes. Around ice sheet margins and over mountain glaciers, the altimeter performs synthetic aperture processing and uses a second antenna as an interferometer to determine the across-track angle to the earliest radar return. This provides the exact surface location being measured when the surface is sloping.

Mission Objectives

System Capabilities

Sea ice thickness and mass

Measured Parameters

This mission will contribute directly to the environment policy priority in the Arctic region, but will also have impacts on the other three priorities. The information provided about the thickness of polar ice, both on land and on the sea, will be key to better predictions of future sea-level rise. Higher sea levels will impact the indigenous people`s way of life and will have implications for northern shipping, a key component of economic development in the north.

Relevance to Arctic Interests

Oceansat-2 and -1 Facts in Brief

Country: India Operations: Indian Space Research Organization

Status: Operational, launched in 2009 Mission Duration: Design life of 5 years Coverage: Global coverage, with a revisit time of 2 days Orbit: Sun synchronous orbit at 720 km altitude Key Service Areas: Advisories of potential fishing zones, coastal water pollution and sedimentation monitoring, oil slick tracking, weather forecasting, ocean state forecasting, changes in polar sea ice. Web link: http://www.isro.org/satellites/oceansat-2.aspx The mission objectives of Oceansat-2 are to gather systematic data for oceanographic, coastal and atmospheric applications. The main objectives of OceanSat-2 are: study of surface winds and ocean surface strata; observation of chlorophyll concentrations; monitoring of phytoplankton blooms; and study of atmospheric aerosols and suspended sediments in the water. Oceansat-2 payloads include: Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM), Ku-band Pencil Beam scatterometer (SCAT) developed by ISRO, and Radio Occultation Sounder for Atmosphere (ROSA) developed by the Italian Space Agency. OCM is an 8-band multi-spectral camera operating in the Visible – Near IR spectral range, which provides an instantaneous geometric field of view of 360 meter and a swath of 1,420 km. SCAT is an active microwave device used to determine ocean surface level wind vectors through estimation of radar backscatter. Two pencil beams are generated, which cover a continuous swath of 1,400 km for the inner beam and 1,840 km for the outer beam, respectively. The inner and outer beams are configured in horizontal and vertical polarization respectively for both transmit and receive modes. The aim is to provide global ocean coverage and wind vector retrieval with a revisit time of 2 days. ROSA is a GPS occultation receiver the objective of which is to characterize the lower atmosphere and the ionosphere. Oceansat-1, launched in 1999 into a similar orbit, is still providing data at the same resolution as Oceansat-2.

Mission Objectives

System Capabilities

Multispectral and panchromatic images (simultaneously)

Measured Parameters

Oceansat-2 (and Oceansat-1) can contribute to environmental, sovereignty and security, and economic development policy priorities in the Arctic, providing beneficial data for environmental monitoring, fisheries development and northern shipping in the region.

Relevance to Arctic Interests

CONTRIBUTION OF SPACE TECHNOLOGIES TO ARCTIC POLICY PRIORITIES 92