link to 16 MARCH 2017 Web Story

Sentinel-3 Validation Team forge ahead with satellite data

Cryosphere Excerpt copied form above link:

Sentinel-3 is providing key observations addressing cryosphere’s evolution given that decreasing snow cover is one of the clearest indicators of a warming climate. Snow has a major influence on Earth’s radiation balance and it is also a very sensitive indicator of high latitude climate change, being closely related to shifts in temperature and precipitation regimes.

Owing to its importance, snow albedo or reflectivity has been designated as an ECV and a Target Requirement for climate monitoring.

A team lead by Professor Jason Box at the Geological Survey Denmark and Greenland, (GEUS) approaches the snow problem in two ways. Firstly, by studying the feasibility and benefit of snow model data assimilation of Sentinel-3’s optical data.

Within this work frame, Marie Dumont, Head of the snowpack observation and modelling team from Centre d’Etudes de la Neige (CNRM/Meteo France-CNRS UMR3589) in Grenoble, will push data assimilation capabilities to the near-real time frame, thus serving operational models to improve flood and avalanche hazard forecasting.

Another aspect of work related to snow involves field campaigns throughout 2017 and 2018 in Greenland, the French Alps and Antarctica.

In Greenland, validation involves fixed-wing drone technology from Aberystwyth University, Wales, supported by the Glaciology Professor at GEUS, Jason Box, who said, “We’re planning to under-fly Sentinel-3 in June 2017 with a 2 m fixed-wing drone, carrying four bands matching Sentinel-3 and with significant overlap with NASA’s MODIS.

“The drone flights, combined with ground measurements of snow crystal morphology and impurity content, give us closure on bridging Sentinel-3 with MODIS to build a Climate Data Record of snow properties, identified as an Essential Climate Variable.”