CPOM helps school students become Earth Observation researchers

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CPOM helps school students become Earth Observation researchers

Posted on by Nicola Bortun

A new project launched by the Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS) is offering students the chance to contribute to scientific understanding of the polar regions.

Funded by the UK Space Agency, MELT will allow schools to monitor changes at the poles using Earth Observation data.

CPOM’s Anna Hogg will be helping students to understand the latest satellite Earth Observation data and investigate events such as iceberg calving, where recent dramatic changes suggest that environmental conditions have changed.

Dr Hogg said: “There are really exciting opportunities for students to work with Earth Observation scientists on major changes. We used Sentinel-1 satellite data to watch a giant iceberg four times the size of London broke free from Antarctica’s Larsen-C ice shelf in 2017, and now students can use the same data to measure if new icebergs calve off some of the fastest flowing glaciers in the world!”

MELT is also challenging schools to calculate their carbon footprint and develop ideas for reducing their carbon output

Darren Harman, from Sir Robert Woodard Academy, commented: “MELT has presented a group of our Year 9 students with an amazing opportunity to be part of novel science research, that will undoubtedly enrich their experience of learning science in a way that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to until university and beyond.

“Not only are they excited at what they might discover looking at data no other human has yet cast their eyes upon, but also the prospect of inspiring students at local primary schools to share in their experience of running live science research in schools.”

Professor Becky Parker, director of IRIS said: “We’re really looking forward to seeing the results from MELT.  It’s a great opportunity for schools to engage their students in work to impact the environment and use the latest satellite data.  It’s fantastic to receive the backing from the UK Space Agency and our schools can’t wait to get started.”

For more information on the Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS) MELT project please visit the IRIS website.

Antarctica retreating across the sea floor

Posted on by Nicola Bortun

Antarctica’s great ice sheet is losing ground as it is eroded by warm ocean water circulating beneath its floating edge, a new study has found.

Research by CPOM at the University of Leeds has produced the first complete map of how the ice sheet’s submarine edge, or ‘grounding line’, is shifting. Most Antarctic glaciers flow straight into the ocean in deep submarine troughs, the grounding line is the place where their base leaves the sea floor and begins to float.

The study, published today in Nature Geoscience, shows that the Southern Ocean melted 1,463 km2 of Antarctica’s underwater ice between 2010 and 2016 – an area the size of Greater London.

Map showing rates of grounding line migration and their coincidence with ocean conditions around Antarctica between 2010 and 2016 (seabed temperatures: Locarnini et al., 2013. World Ocean Atlas 2013, Volume 1: Temperature. S. Levitus, Ed., A. Mishonov Technical Ed.; NOAA Atlas NESDIS 73, 40 pp.). Grounding line locations are from Rignot et al., 2013, Science 341 (6143), pp. 266-270.
Credit: Konrad et al.

The team, led by Dr Hannes Konrad, found that grounding line retreat has been extreme at eight of the ice sheet’s 65 biggest glaciers. The pace of deglaciation since the last ice age is roughly 25 metres per year. The retreat of the grounding line at these glaciers is more than five times that rate.

The biggest changes were seen in West Antarctica, where more than a fifth of the ice sheet has retreated across the sea floor faster than the pace of deglaciation.

Dr Konrad said: “Our study provides clear evidence that retreat is happening across the ice sheet due to ocean melting at its base, and not just at the few spots that have been mapped before now. This retreat has had a huge impact on inland glaciers, because releasing them from the sea bed removes friction, causing them to speed up and contribute to global sea level rise.”

The researchers also found some unexpected behaviour. Although retreat of the Thwaites Glacier grounding line in West Antarctica has sped up, at the neighbouring Pine Island Glacier – until recently one of the fastest retreating on the continent – has halted. This suggests that the ocean melting at its base may have paused.

Dr Konrad added: “These differences emphasise the complex nature of ice sheet instability across the continent, and being able to detect them helps us to pinpoint areas that deserve further investigation.”

Grounding lines typically lie a kilometre or more below sea level and are inaccessible even to submersibles, so remote sensing methods for detecting them are extremely valuable.

The team were able to track the movement of Antarctica’s grounding line using European Space Agency’s CryoSat-2 across 16,000 km of the coastline. Although CryoSat-2 is designed to measure changes in the ice sheet elevation, these can be translated into horizontal motion at the grounding line using knowledge of the glacier and sea floor geometry and the Archimedes principle of buoyancy – which relates the thickness of floating ice to the height of its surface.

Study co-author Professor Andy Shepherd said: “We were delighted at how well CryoSat-2 is able to detect the motion of Antarctica’s grounding lines. They are impossible places to access from below, and usually invisible on the ground, so it’s a fantastic illustration of the value of satellite measurements for identifying and understanding environmental change.”

Further information:

Images and animation are available for download: https://goo.gl/JXkX24

The paper Net retreat of Antarctic glacier grounding lines by Hannes Konrad, Andrew Shepherd, Lin Gilbert, Anna Hogg, Malcolm McMillan, Alan Muir and Thomas Slater is published 2 April in Nature Geoscience (doi:10.1038/s41561-018-0082-z).

Space to Earth View challenges kids to aim high!

Posted on by Nicola Bortun

CPOM’s Anna Hogg has been inspiring schoolchildren to take their fitness to new heights and learn about space science at the same time.

Funded by the UK Space Agency, the ‘Space to Earth View Challenge’ is a fun way of inspiring children of all abilities to get more active and work towards a shared goal whilst learning about the exciting topic of Earth Observation.

Anna has been working alongside Triathlon Trust ambassador and Team GB Paralympian Lauren Steadman, encouraging children to run, swim and cycle a total of 717km – the height at which CryoSat, the European Space Agency’s polar mission, orbits the Earth.

22 events across the UK have been delivered, with 6,826 children (52% male/48% female) taking part and 25,852 km travelled – meaning the challenges have successfully been hitting CryoSat’s orbit!

Map of the UK showing the location of the schools that have taken part in the challenge

Anna said: “The challenge is a fantastic opportunity to engage children in both Earth Observation and keeping fit, paving the way for healthy lifestyles and an interest in space science as they get older.”

100% of teachers rated the event ‘Excellent’. 100% of teachers agreed that the activity increased their pupil’s understanding of Earth Observation and 92% of teachers intend to continue learning about earth observation with their pupils. 92% of teachers agreed that the activity was inclusive and that children enjoyed it.

The Triathlon Trust has provided all the equipment schools need to take part, including bikes mounted on turbo trainers.

Children taking part in the Space to Earth View challenge

Astronaut Tim Peake has meanwhile given his full support to the project as a way of promoting both fitness and space – having experienced them at the same time!

Tim Peake keeping fit on the ISS Treadmill. Credit: AP/ESA

Tweeting about the challenge this week, he said:

Watch Anna and Lauren explain more about the challenge in this video:

 Further information:

The Space to Earth View Challenge is a partnership between The Triathlon Trust, CPOM, the Ideas Foundation, Venture Thinking and Accenture. They would like to thank the UK Space Agency for making the project possible.

The Triathlon Trust is the official charity of British Triathlon, using the engaging sport of triathlon to encourage young people to lead healthy, more active lifestyles.

To see videos from the events visit: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPlhQD_vQ4o2a_b5q6rPwpg

Fellowship in Satellite Altimetry

Posted on by Nicola Bortun

Are you an ambitious scientist looking for your next challenge? Do you want to further your career with CPOM? Do you have a PhD (or close to obtaining) in a quantitative subject, and the skills to develop our satellite altimetry capability?

CPOM is seeking to recruit a research fellow in satellite radar altimetry, with emphasis on creating cutting-edge satellite altimeter observations of the polar regions.  In this role, you will provide a valuable contribution to our programme of land ice altimetry research, focusing on studying the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets in unprecedented detail, exploiting recent developments in satellite radar altimetry and the resulting increase in the availability, volume, frequency and quality of Earth observation data.

Although based at the heart of the CPOM team in Leeds, you will work with scientists across our partner universities.In addition, you will liaise with ESA, BAS, NOC, the UK Met Office and other institutions as appropriate to contribute to CPOM’s scientific objectives.

For more details see the University of Leeds jobs web page.

Take your fitness to new heights with the Space to Earth View Challenge!

Posted on by Nicola Bortun

Join CPOM’s Anna Hogg and Paralympian Lauren Steadman in taking the Space to Earth View Challenge: Swim, bike or run the distance to orbiting satellites 717 km above the Earth

First look at 2017 Arctic sea ice volume from CryoSat

Posted on by Nicola Bortun

A new paper in Advances in Space Research, led by Rachel Tilling, provides a first look at 2017 Arctic sea ice volume from CryoSat.

Northern Hemisphere sea ice thicknesses as measured by CryoSat-2. The maps show sea ice thickness for (a) autumn (October/November) 2016 and (b) spring (March/April) 2017. These correspond to the start and end of the 2016–2017 sea ice growth season, respectively. Thicknesses are shown at 60°N and above, where the majority of ice is located.

Using data from CPOM’s sea ice processor, which has been under constant development at CPOM since the early 1990s, the 7 year time series also shows large year-on-year variations in the volume of sea ice which persists in the Arctic year round: between 2010 and 2012, volume declined by 31%, followed by an 89% increase in 2013 and then a 27% decrease from 2013-2016.

These changes impacted on the total autumn sea ice volume, which declined by 14% between 2010 and 2012, increased by 42% in 2013, then decreased by 25% from 2013-2016.  The peak autumn volume in 2013 was seen as thick ice cover in the region north of Greenland and Ellesmere Island, with ice being 17% thicker than average, associated with a 5% drop in the number of days on which melting occurred – conditions more typical of the late 1990s. The sharp increase in sea ice volume after just one cool summer demonstrates the ability of Arctic sea ice to respond rapidly to a changing environment.

Cryosat-2 estimates of total (red stars), first-year (blue diamonds) and multi-year (green triangles) sea ice volume. Also shown are model estimates of volume from the Pan-Arctic Ice-Ocean Modelling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS) (black line)

The paper also provides a comprehensive description of the data processing steps that CPOM uses to estimate Arctic sea ice thickness and volume from CryoSat’s radar altimetry data, along with associated uncertainties.

Next steps include testing the method on sea ice thickness retrievals in the Antarctic and developing sea ice processing systems for other satellites monitoring the polar regions.

The full paper Estimating Arctic sea ice thickness and volume using CryoSat-2 radar altimeter data is available now in Advances in Space Research.

Pine Island Glacier and Ice Sheet Stability in West Antarctica

Posted on by Nicola Bortun

In May 2017 CPOM Leeds hosted the concluding meeting of NERC’s Ice Sheet Stability Research Programme (iSTAR), an effort to improve understanding of West Antarctica’s combined Pine Island Glacier Amundsen Sea system.

Participants reviewed iSTAR’s combined achievements against the programme’s original objectives: understanding the transport of ocean heat toward the ice sheet, understanding the sub-ice processes affecting ice melt, and understanding the response of the inland glacier to the ocean-induced changes.

An operator prepares an ice-sounding radar during windy weather on Pine Island Glacier. The radar measures ice thickness and detects internal layering within the ice. Credit: David Vaughan

The main messages coming out of the research were:

  • Future research in this field should include atmospheric processes, not just ice and ocean processes;
  • Long time series observations are critical; and
  • More observations are needed of the floating ice sheet before models can reliably predict Pine Island Glacier’s future behavior.

Read the full write-up of the meeting by Andy Smith of the British Antarctic Survey, published in Eos

Satellites reveal hidden ice canyons

Posted on by Nicola Bortun

CPOM’s Noel Gourmelen explains how ESA’s Sentinel-1 and CryoSat missions have shed light on the huge canyons hidden within the Antarctic ice shelf in a new ESA article, summarised in the video below.

Update on the Larsen-C iceberg breakaway

Posted on by Nicola Bortun

The largest remaining ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula lost 10% of its area when an iceberg four times the size of London broke free earlier this month.

Sentinel-1 data shows network of cracks grow on the Larsen-C Ice-Shelf, before the colossal iceberg broke free. Credit: A.E. Hogg, CPOM, University of Leeds

Since the 12 July 2017 breakaway, CPOM’s Dr Anna Hogg and Dr Hilmar Gudmundsson, from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), have continued to track the iceberg, known as A68, using the European Space Agency (ESA) and European Commission’s Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite. This ESA video describes A68’s story.

A cluster of over 11 ‘smaller’ icebergs have also now formed, the largest of which is over 13 km long. These ‘bergy bits’ have broken off both the giant iceberg and the remaining ice-shelf

View of the A68 iceberg from a European Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite image acquired on 30.7.2017. Credit: A. Fleming, British Antarctic Survey

Dr Hogg, an ESA Research Fellow within CPOM said: “The satellite images reveal a lot of continuing action on Larsen-C Ice Shelf.  We can see that the remaining cracks continue to grow towards a feature called Bawden Ice Rise, which provides important structural support for the remaining ice shelf.

“If an ice shelf loses contact with the ice rise, either through sustained thinning or a large iceberg calving event, it can prompt a significant acceleration in ice speed, and possibly further destabilisation. It looks like the Larsen-C story might not be over yet.”

Reporting this week in the journal Nature Climate Change Dr Hogg and Dr Gudmundsson, examine the events leading up to this dramatic natural phenomenon and discuss how calving of huge icebergs affects the stability of Antarctic ice shelves.

Their article asserts that a calving event is not necessarily due to changes in environmental conditions and may simply reflect the natural growth and decay cycle of an ice shelf.

Dr Gudmundsson said: “Although floating ice shelves have only a modest impact on of sea-level rise, ice from Antarctica’s interior can discharge into the ocean when they collapse. Consequently we will see increase in the ice-sheet contribution to global sea-level rise.

“With this large calving event, and the availability of satellite technology, we have a fantastic opportunity to watch this natural experiment unfolding before our eyes.  We can expect to learn a lot about how ice shelves break up and how the loss of a section of an ice shelf affects the flow of the remaining parts.”

Larsen-C crack. Credit: BAS

Ice-shelf retreat on the Antarctic Peninsula, has been observed throughout the satellite era about 50 years. Large sections of the Larsen Ice Shelf A and B, and the Wilkins1 ice-shelf collapsed in a matter of days in 1995, 2002, and 2008, respectively.

Geological evidence suggests that ice-shelf decay of this magnitude is not unprecedented, however, prior to 2002 the Larsen-B ice shelf remained intact for the last 11,000 years. While Antarctic ice shelves are in direct contact with both the atmosphere and the surrounding oceans, and thus subject to changes in environmental conditions, they also go through repeated internally-driven cycles of growth and collapse.

Further information:

Impacts of the Larsen-C ice-shelf calving event by Anna E Hogg and G Hilmar Gudmundsson is published in Nature Climate Change on 2 August 2017.  URL: http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v7/n8/full/nclimate3359.html

Broadcast-quality footage of Larsen Ice Shelf is also available from the British Antarctic Survey Press Office.

Giant iceberg in the making at Larsen-C

Posted on by Nicola Bortun

ESA satellites are monitoring a deep crack that continues to cut across the Larsen C ice shelf. When it eventually gives way, it will create one of the largest icebergs on record.

Sentinel-1 now shows the crack in the ice is around 200 km long, leaving just 5 km between the end of the fissure and the ocean.

While we wait for Sentinel-1 to tell us when this 6600 sq km iceberg is spawned, CryoSat can reveal what the berg’s measurements will be.

CPOM’s Noel Gourmelen explained: “Using information from CryoSat, we have mapped the elevation of the ice above the ocean and worked out that the eventual iceberg will be about 190 m thick and contain about 1155 cubic kilometres of ice.

“We have also estimated that the depth below sea level could be as much as 210 m.”

Icebergs calve from Antarctica all the time, but because this one is particularly large its path across the ocean needs to be monitored as it could pose a hazard to maritime traffic.

Again, Sentinel-1 and CryoSat will play an important role in tracking the berg and keeping an eye on how it changes.

Dr Gourmelen added, “We will continue to use CryoSat to monitor how the berg changes as it drifts away from the ice shelf.”

A berg, similar in size, drifted around the Brunt ice shelf in December 2015, causing alarm for those stationed at the Halley research base, which sits on the floating section of the shelf.

Anna Hogg from the University of Leeds said, “Measurements from CryoSat showed that the Brunt berg was around 390 m, so too thick to come close to shore since the sea is shallow here.

“As for this new Larsen C berg, we are not sure what will happen. It could, in fact, even calve in pieces or break up shortly after. Whole or in pieces, ocean currents could drag it north, even as far as the Falkland Islands. If so it could pose a hazard for ships in Drake Passage.

“What is certain, though, is that we shall continue to use CryoSat to keep a check on its progress.”