Using over a decade of data from ESA’s CryoSat satellite, scientists have identified 85 previously unknown active subglacial lakes beneath Antarctica, bringing the total to 231. These lakes, hidden several kilometres below the surface, periodically fill and drain—movements detected through subtle ice surface height changes measured by CryoSat’s radar altimeter. The discovery also adds 12 …
“I have extremely enjoyed my time as an ESA LPF. The opportunity to pursue my own interests, while growing myself as a researcher has been invaluable. Having been able to work closely with ESA and get to know its people and practices is a strong foundation I hope to build on as I continue with …
A new study published in Nature Geoscience reports the first documented case of a subglacial lake draining explosively through Greenland’s ice sheet, blasting a roughly 2 km² area and cutting a 85 m‑deep crater in July-August 2014. The researchers estimate the event released about 90 billion litres of meltwater bursting upward through nearly 85–90 m of ice. The flood …
In a surprising discovery, scientists have observed a glacier in West Antarctica rapidly diverting ice from its neighboring glacier, a phenomenon dubbed “ice piracy.” This significant shift, previously believed to occur over millennia, has occurred in less than two decades. The study, led by researchers from the University of Leeds and published in The Cryosphere, …
A paper, recently published in Nature Communications, reveals that a major subglacial lake drainage event beneath Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier in 2013 temporarily doubled the rate of ocean-driven melting beneath its ice shelf. The sudden release of over 7 km³ of freshwater formed a buoyant plume that intensified the melting effect of warm, deep ocean …
The project’s primary objective is to evaluate the potential of wave renewable energy sources in coastal zones of Europe, Mediterranean and archipelagos where the energy can be efficiently harnessed. To achieve this objective, the project is processing the whole CryoSat, Sentinel-3A, and Sentinel-3B missions data over specific coastal zones and using the advanced SAMOSA+ retracker …
The Greenland Ice Sheet is one of the biggest contributors to global sea level rise and, as the polar climate warms, this contribution is increasing. The decrease in the mass of the ice sheet is split approximately evenly between runoff of meltwater and flow of Greenland’s glaciers into the ocean. ESA’s 4DGreenland project aims to …
New research, utilizing data from ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-1 and CryoSat satellite missions, offers a stark view of the state of Antarctica’s ice shelves. Over the last 25 years, 40% of these vital floating extensions of the continent’s ice sheet have significantly diminished in volume, releasing approximately 67 trillion tonnes of meltwater into the ocean. This …
Living Planet Fellowship research project carried out by Kirk Scanlan. Expected sea-level rise through the remainder of the 21st century has been primarily attributed to the continued melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). This loss of ice not only directly threatens coastal infrastructure around Europe but precipitates second-order effects such as proliferation of diseases, crop instability …
A recently published study has produced the first ever global assessment of glacier mass loss using satellite radar altimetry, in particular ESA’s CryoSat-2 satellite and a breakthrough way of using its data. The results show that between 2010 and 2020, glaciers lost a total of 272 ± 11 gigatonnes of ice, which is equivalent to …
