HR: 14:40h
AN: C32B-04 INVITED     [PDF]
TI: The Cryosphere in Earth System Science -- NASA's Contribution to Polar Research as We Approach IPY.
AU: * Asrar, G R
EM: ghassem.asrar@nasa.gov
AF: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 300 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20546
AB: The designation of 2007/08 as the next International Polar Year is well timed. The polar regions are undergoing rapid changes, with uncertain - but potentially large - impacts well beyond those frigid climes. Scientists have begun to see the polar regions as bellwethers of global change, beginning with stratospheric ozone depletion (and potential recovery) and extending to the most recent measurements of ice sheet change. The connections between the polar regions and the rest of the Earth system are new and active areas of research. At the same time, our capability to study the polar regions has never been greater. NASA is nearing completion of the deployment of the first phase of the Earth Observing System of remote sensing satellites, and over 20 instruments with active and passive remote sensing capabilities in NASA's current suite of satellites examine the atmosphere, cryosphere and hydrosphere of the polar regions. Stable monitoring of polar sea ice cover have revealed startling trends in recent decades. Two satellite radar mapping campaigns have produce detailed topographic maps of Antarctica and are providing new insights to ice sheet flow characteristics. Laser mapping of Greenland from aircraft has both documented change there and prepared the way for a new space-based capability to map the entire cryosphere. Many nations of the world have recently enhanced and articulated their commitment to Earth observation and the integration of in situ and remote sensing data for use in prediction of future changes. The world scientific community is now well positioned to pose and answer profound questions about polar region change and the implications for the rest of the Earth system. NASA and its domestic and international partners will be essential and active participants in this international scientific effort in the coming decades.
UR: http://www.earth.nasa.gov/
DE: 1600 GLOBAL CHANGE (New category)
DE: 9310 Antarctica
DE: 9315 Arctic region
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting