Polar Monitor - Cross-institute collaboration project on remote sensing of polar regions

Kurzfassung

In the Polar Monitor project, four DLR institutes are working together on research questions relating to remote sensing of polar regions. In addition to the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD), the Remote Sensing Technology Institute (IMF), the Microwaves and Radar Institute (HR) and the Institute of Optical Sensor Systems (OS) are involved. Since the start of the project in spring 2020, almost all goals have been achieved. The Global SnowPack (GSP) processor has been implemented in the operational service, which means that global snow cover information is now freely available in near real-time and without data gaps due to clouds or polar night. Besides the near-real-time data, the snow cover extent (SCE) for each day since February 2000 as well as the derived snow cover duration (SCD) for each hydrological year are also archived. In addition, an 'Ice Lines' processor was developed that automatically detects antarctic ice shelf edges and creates shape files from them. Both products are provided through the Earth Observation Center's (EOC) GeoService. In addition, a method of semi-automatic mapping of the grounding line for individual glaciers was successfully developed and tested. At the conference we will present the products we have produced so far and how they can be used. Moreover, the first results of the joint field and flight campaign on the Aletsch Glacier in late summer 2021 will be presented and an outlook on the intended second phase of the project will be given.