Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

A Novel Approach to Radar Analysis of the Cryosphere.  (NARAC)

Outline
The fate of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets is of great concern due to the potential for catastrophic sea-level rise. Therefore it is paramount to be able to accurately measure the responses of the major ice sheets to climate change. Due to availability, all weather and day/night capabilities, the most used instruments for glacier monitoring are microwave radars and altimeters. However, one of the greatest challenges in using space born radar instruments to measure cryospheric properties, is to know what the instruments are detecting and at what depth the detected signal originated from. The radar signal contains information of the snow pack and the internal structure of the glacier and sea-ice. For snow and ice the penetrations can be from centimeters to kilometers depending on the radar frequency and snow and ice properties. The project will perform several simultaneously SAR, radar altimeter, GPR, and insitu data acquisitions on glaciers and on sea-ice on Svalbard and in Antarctica during varying environmental/glaciological conditions. The rationale for doing work in both polar regions is the different properties of the Antarctic compared to the Svalbard glaciers with the presence of large ice sheets and ice shelves and presence of dry snow areas. The project will acquire data from multi-parameter SAR and altimeter instruments onboard satellites such as ERS, Envisat, Radarsat-I/II, Cryosat and TerraSAR-X. Subsurface characterization will be obtained using flexible configurable GPR equipment covering the frequency range from 100 MHz to 13.6 GHz, which will allow for direct comparison between spaceborne and airborne Ku, X, C, L, and P band radars and the GPR data signatures. Scattering models will be adapted in order to interpret the data and bring closure to satellite and GPR comparison and to retrieve snow, glacier and sea-ice properties. The project will also have a potential to give The project will benefit from results, models and equipment developed under the ongoing Envitools project (2003-2006, Norwegian Research Council), which investigates C-band scattering properties retrieved simultaneously from SAR and Cband GPR on Svalbard glaciers. The overall project goal is to: • Increase the accuracy and usefulness of microwave EO derived cryospheric properties by developing new and better retrieval methods. Scientific sub-goals are: • Improve the understanding of scattering mechanism and effective scattering centre location from snow, sea-ice, and glaciers. • Develop scattering models, methodology, and techniques for processing and analysis of multi-frequency and multi- polarization SAR with respect to feature interpretation and extraction. • Develop transfer functions from SAR-facies to glacier facies in order to use SAR and radar altimeters for routine mass balance monitoring • Document ongoing changes and natural variability. valuable input to calibration/validation for the upcoming CryoSat, Radarsat-II, and TerraSAR missions (scheduled launches in 2005 and 2006).

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
the polar regions and to establish a baseline for future cryosphere change detection by developing and testing a range of modern observational techniques. We will especially focus on developing techniques that are capable of providing a complete picture of precipitation and accumulation (ice sheet and glacier mass balance and snow cover data). The simultaneously multidisciplinary (space and ground) remote sensing dataset to be established in the project will provide a benchmark for future change detection and will be a valuable dataset for developing better techniques for integration and interpretation of observations.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
The institutions from Norway, Norut IT, Norwegian Polar Institute and University of Oslo, are all involved in several large international projects within microwave remote sensing of the cryosphere through ESA, EC, and Norwegian Research Council funded projects. The initiative is also supported by several other international institutions through Steven Arcone, USACE Engineer Research and Development Center, USA, John Moore, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Finland, Veijo Pohjola, Uppsala University, Sweden, Robert Fatland, Vexcel Corp., USA.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
The proposed project will be a continuation and expansion of already ongoing activities on the Kongsvegen and Holtedalsfonna glaciers in the proximity of NyÅlesund, Svalbard. The other test area will be Jutulstraumen and the Fimbulisen Ice Shelf, in the proximity of the Norwegian Troll Station in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, where an activity is already proposed for the Norwegian Research Council.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 04/07 – 05/07      04/08 – 05/08      
Antarctic: 10/07 – 11/07      10/08 – 11/09      

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
The activity is mostly remote sensing based and only snow/ice properties and GPR measurements will be done at ground. Accordingly, field equipment needed is snow/ice drilling capabilities (shallow cores), snowmobiles and existing field stations in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, and the Norwegian Troll Station in Antarctica.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
no

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Own national polar operator

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
The proposal is sent to the Norwegian IPY committee to be endorsed. However, due to lack of time the Norwegian IPY committee will not endorse activities before the Jan. 14th deadline.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
yes

This is a new project that is an extension of a Norwegian Research Council funded project (Envitools) and a project to proposed the Norwegian Research Council Antarctic Program in November 2004.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The project will be managed by the standards established by the participating institutions through several large international (ESA, EC) and multidisciplinary research projects. The Project Coordinator will be appointed by Norut IT as the coordinating organisation. The coordinator will be the person responsible for achieving the scientific results of the project and overall project management. Principles for project management and reporting is defined and stated in the reporting requirements to be defined by the participants, as well as the contract with the partners in the consortium. The project description will form the basis for the project control by the coordinator.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
As a part of the project one or more (dependent on the funding) Ph.D. students will be included. There will be publications in international journals and newspapers/magazines. There will be a website with information from the ongoing project. Data will be made available for the scientific community.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
All data and results from the project will early be made available for the scientific community. The IPY data strategy will be adapted from the start of the project. A data management plan will be made. The involved organisations have extensive experience in environmental data management and database construction through several national and EC funded projects. An appropriate international organisation standard will be followed (which one yet to be decided).

How is it proposed to fund the project?
The project will be sought funded by the Norwegian Research Council and other national agencies. There is already one proposal pending covering parts of the proposed Antarctic activities. There are also activities ongoing on Svalbard (Envitools project 2003-2006 and Cryosat Cal/Val). These activities will be proposed continued and expanded into the IPY timeframe.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Kjell Arild Høgda
Norut IT
Tromsø Science Park
POB 6434
9294 Tromsø
Norway

Tel: +47 7762-9420
Mobile: +47 4804 8198
Fax: +47 7762-9401
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation