Monitoring Change in the Arctic - Satellite-based Applications on Climate Change - page 126

Table 9.1 Current and future satellites and sensors for key Arctic climate variables

Laser and radar
altimeters

Synthetic aperture
radar (SAR)

Visible/infrared
imagers

Atmospheric
sounders

Passive
microwave Sensor types Scatterometers Gravity

Satellites and
sensors

ICESat, ERS-2,
Envisat,
CryoSat-2,
Sentinel-3

ERS-2 SAR, Envisat
ASAR, Radarsat1-
2, ALOS-
PALSAR,
TERRASAR-X,
COSMO-
SKYMED,
RISAT, Sentinel-1

ERS2-Wind Scat,
QuikScat,
MetOp-ASCAT,
OCEANSAT-2,
HY-2A Scat

SPOT 1-5, Landsat,
ASTER, Sentinel-
2, AVHRR,
MODIS, VIIRS,
HY-1

HIRS,
AMSU,
IASI,
SSMIS,
MIS

SSMI, AMSR-E,
WindSat,
SMOS, HY-
2A

GRACE,
GOCE

Atmosphere Winds, cloud

properties
(amount, height,
phase, thickness)

Temperature
and
humidity
profiles

Surface winds
(ice-free)

Ice sheets Elevation/

thickness
change

Motion, extent Extent, snow/ice

facies

Extent Melt/freeze onset Mass

change

Glaciers and ice
caps

Surface
topography
and change

Velocity, topography,
facies, lakes

Facies Extent, velocity, snow

line

Mass
change

Sea ice Freeboard/

thickness

Motion, extent, floe
size distribution

Extent, melt/freeze
onset, motion

Extent, floe size
distribution, melt
ponds

Extent,
concentration,
snow
thickness

Geoid

Snow Accumulation Accumulation Accumulation Extent Extent, thickness Mass

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