Cryorad: A low frequency wideband radiometer mission for the study of the cryosphere

G. Macelloni, M. Brogioni, M. Leduc-Leballeur, F. Montomoli, A. Bartsch, A. Mialon, C. Ritz, J. Closa Soteras, D. Stammer, G. Picard, G. De Carolis, J. Boutin, J. T. Johnson, K. W. Nicholls, K. C. Jezek, K. Rautiainen, L. Kaleschke, L. Bertino, L. Tsang, M. Van Den BroekeN. Skou, S. Tietsche

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionAcademic

Abstract

Earth's cold regions are key elements of the planet’s climate system: they have strong feedbacks with global change and they have a direct impact on human activities. Despite their importance, at present they are not adequately monitored by state-of-the-art instruments. In order to fill this gap, a dedicated spaceborne mission called Cryorad has been proposed in the framework of the ESA Earth Explorer 10 call. The mission would comprise a 0.4-2 GHz nadir-looking radiometer installed on a polar-orbit satellite. Scientific and technical studies are underway, as well as experimental campaigns in Greenland and Antarctica.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIGARSS 2018 - 2018 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium
PublisherIEEE
Pages1998-2000
Number of pages3
ISBN (Electronic)9781538671504
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Oct 2018
Event38th Annual IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, IGARSS 2018 - Valencia, Spain
Duration: 22 Jul 201827 Jul 2018

Conference

Conference38th Annual IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, IGARSS 2018
Country/TerritorySpain
CityValencia
Period22/07/1827/07/18

Funding

The algorithms and retrieval concepts for deriving geophysical parameters from CryoRad measurements are based on the heritage of L-band microwave radiometer missions (i.e. SMOS, Aquarius, SMAP) which demonstrated the capability of this frequency range to investigate cryospheric parameters and ocean salinity and the potential of lower frequencies to address L-band limitations. Moreover, the availability of continuous spectra will permit the development of new methodologies and approaches never tested in these application domains but widely used for other applications or frequency ranges. In addition, further proof-of-concept of the proposed retrieval algorithms is provided by the experimental campaigns of the UWBRAD instrument that flew over Greenland in 2016 and 2017 [5] and will fly over Antarctica in 2018. Theoretical studies, which include state-of-the-art microwave emission modeling, have also been developed within the UWBRAD project and a preliminary concept study funded by the Italian Space Agency.

Keywords

  • Cryosphere
  • Low-frequency
  • New missions
  • Radiometry

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