Qrius
  • Economy
  • Culture & Society
  • Science & Technology
  • World
  • Content Services
  • Economy
  • Culture & Society
  • Science & Technology
  • World
  • Content Services
18 Sep, 18
18 Sep, 18
Earth, NASA, science and technology

NASA launches satellite to study Earth’s ice changes: All you need to know

NASA successfully launched its Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) from California at 9.02 am on Saturday.

By Elton Gomes

By Elton Gomes

NASA successfully launched its Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) from California at 9.02 am on Saturday. The satellite began its mission to measure the ice within frozen areas of the Earth. NASA’s ICESat-2 took off from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base on United Launch Alliance’s final Delta II rocket, NASA said in its official statement.

The ICESat-2 will help scientists in reviewing the rate of the planet’s melting ice in a mission described as “exceptionally important for science”. The device will be activated in approximately two weeks and is said to reveal unprecedented detail about the current thickness of ice in the polar areas as the climate warms. News

What will the new satellite do?

Read moreThe tussle between Science and Religion

NASA said that its satellite will continue exploring remote polar areas. “With this mission we continue humankind’s exploration of the remote polar regions of our planet and advance our understanding of how ongoing changes of Earth’s ice cover at the poles and elsewhere will affect lives around the world, now and in the future,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement.

The ICESat-2’s high-resolution data will document changes in the Earth’s ice caps, improve forecasts of sea level rise that is triggered by melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, and will help scientists understand the mechanism behind the decreasing amount of floating ice. It will also assess how loss of sea ice can affect the ocean and atmosphere.

How will ICESat-2 help researchers?

Several billions of tons of land ice melt or flow into the oceans annually, thus contributing to a rise in sea levels across the world. In recent time, contributions from these melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica alone have raised global sea levels by more than a millimeter a year, and the rate seems to be increasing at an alarming rate.

Read moreTo Infinty and Beyond: Quantum Computing

Data from ICESat-2 will help researchers in narrowing the range of uncertainty in forecasts of sea level rise in the future. The satellite will also help in making the most precise polar-wide measurements to date of sea ice freeboard, which is the height of sea ice above the adjacent sea surface.

Potential data users have been working with ICESat-2 scientists to connect the mission science to societal needs. For instance, measurement from ICESat-2 could help local governments plan better in the event of a flood or drought. Additionally, forest height maps and displaying tree density and structure could improve computer models used by firefighters to predict the behaviour of wildfires.

Why studying ice is important?

The ICESat-2 will measure the average annual elevation change of land ice in Greenland and Antarctica to within the width of a pencil, thereby capturing 60,000 measurements every second.

Read moreImmodest Hermes: Messaging System

“The new observational technologies of ICESat-2 will advance our knowledge of how the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica contribute to sea level rise,” Michael Freilich, director of the earth science division in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said, IANS reported. ICESat-2 will help in improving NASA’s 15-year record of monitoring the change in polar ice heights.


Elton Gomes is a staff writer at Qrius


Stay updated with all the insights.
Navigate news, 1 email day.
Subscribe to Qrius

what is qrius

Qrius reduces complexity. We explain the most important issues of our time, answering the question: "What does this mean for me?"

Featured articles

1

Abstract

The Everlasting Allure of ‘The Double Life of Veronique’
2

‘Women are not just for sex’ says Kangana Ranaut as she hits back at fmr Cabinet Minister
3

India’s Monthly Economic Review: FY24 Outlook Bright, Fundamentals Strong, Global Headwinds
4

Where are we in the fight against ‘homosecularism,’ the belief that sexuality and religion are at odds?
5

Supreme Court refuses woman?s plea to medically terminate her 26-week pregnancy
6

How ‘Birkenstock’ built on its brand and broke bank
7

Israel-Hamas Conflict: Tackling false claims and misleading content in violence-hit Gaza
8

Humans of Bombay founder Karishma Mehta pens note on controversy with People of India
9

How did a ‘bus shelter’ go missing in Bengaluru?
10

Che Guevara

Why is Che Guevara’s image still invoked in pop culture?
About UsContributorsBecome a ContributorContact
2018 QRIUS. All Rights Reserved