The Royal Aeronautical Society - Space Group Public Lecture at RAeS London

The Role of Satellites in the International Polar Year
by Dr David Carlson
Director, IPY International Programme Office

The International Polar Year (IPY) is a large scientific programme focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic from March 2007 to March 2009.

In order to have full and equal coverage of both the Arctic and the Antarctic, IPY 2007-2008 covers two full annual cycles from March 2007 to March 2009 and will involve over 200 projects, with thousands of scientists from over 60 nations examining a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics.

Within days of its launch in 2002, ESA's environmental satellite Envisat captured the disintegration of the Larsen-B ice shelf in Antarctica, surprising scientists because of the rapid rate at which the shelf broke apart.Space research during IPY focuses on space itself, particularly solar processes that impact earth's outer atmosphere, on making measurements of distant space from polar regions, and on the use of satellite sensors in space to monitor polar conditions and processes. Satellite sensors will provide large-scale views of snow and ice properties and dynamics, of ocean colour and roughness, of terrestrial geography and vegetation, and of atmospheric processes and properties.

ESA will provide access to Earth observation data free of charge to selected projects covering the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Data, as well as the exploitation of historical archives, from the following missions will be made available: ESA's Envisat, ERS 1 and -2, GOCE and SMOS (when available) and Third Party Missions including Japan's ALOS and the French Space Agency's (CNES) Spot-4.Earth-observing satellites play a unique and essential role in polar research. Perhaps nowhere else on earth does the combination of wide area coverage, high resolution, and all-weather, all-season, and all-hour operations available from satellite sensors provide such an essential view of global processes.

During IPY researchers will explore the on-the-ground (and in-the-ocean) processes that explain trends seen uniquely in long-term (almost 30-year) satellite data records by:

* applying current satellite remote sensing data to studies of terrestrial ecology, glaciology, oceanography, and meteorology;
* using real-time satellite imagery to guide operations; and
* sharing and comparing data using geo-browsers based on satellite imagery.

This lecture will introduce several IPY projects that depend on satellite data and show some recent polar surprises derived from satellite remote sensing.

See full details at the RAeS Space Group web site www.raes.org.uk/space/ and click on "Next event".

All RAeS Space Group evening events are: public open lectures - all visitors welcome - no admission fee - no tickets required. (Prior RSVP by email or phone of intended attendance appreciated).