Satellite remote sensing of polar snow and ice: present status and future directions

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Author: Massom, RA
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 1995
• Subjects: Earth Sciences; Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience; Glaciology; Polar Record
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0032247400013607; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/35683

Polar snow and ice masses exert a profound influence on global climate and ocean circulation, and are in turn influenced by climate. Satellite remote sensing constitutes the only practical and systematic means of gaining long-term overviews of any change or variability that may be occurring in key snow and ice parameters. Current relevant satellite sensors are reviewed and future developments evaluated to determine how these may lead to improved retrievals of the key parameters. Sensors to be launched on satellite platforms planned for the end of the century and beyond include both improved versions of existing sensors (such as MODIS) and new classes of sensors (such as imaging spectrometers and laser rangers/altimeters) applied to polar remote sensing for the first time. -Author