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Presented below are News items related directly to Polar View activities, events and services. If you are interested in reading about general news items related to the Polar Regions and earth observation, click here.
04.30 - Polar View Adds New Antarctic Ice Chart Service to Its Portfolio Polar View in the Antarctic region recently launched an enhanced interpreted ice chart service. This service compiles data from a variety of different of sources to provide ice charts at a much higher resolution that are updated more frequently than those previously available. [Read More]
04.27 - Polar View releases 2005-2009 Final Report The Polar View 2005-2009: Final Report summarizes the operations and achievements of the Polar View consortium between 2005 and 2009. [Read More]
02.08 - Polar View Antarctic Node launches new website and enhanced ice service for 2010 season Polar View sea ice service in the Antarctic, coordinated by the British Antarctic Survey, has greatly improved the service for the 2009/2010 Antarctic season. A combination of easier access through the new website and a significant increase in the number of images available means more real time sea ice information for users ranging from science vessels and tour ships to rescue missions. [Read More]
In a recent press release, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador boasted of the high level of expertise the province had in dealing with water management issues and the innovative technologies it had available to do so, and Polar View was mentioned as a key contributor to attaining this achievement. [Read More]
View
2009 News Items
Polar View in the Antarctic region recently launched an enhanced interpreted ice chart service. This service compiles data from a variety of different of sources to provide ice charts at a much higher resolution that are updated more frequently than those previously available.
Catering in particular to research vessels and supply ships heading to the research stations in the area as well as Antarctic tourist ships, Polar View collects a broad range of Earth observation data to make the ice charts. Once collected, a team of experts interprets the data to create an easy-to-read ice chart. Collecting the data and providing an interpreted product makes things easier for end users. According to Andrew Fleming of the British Antarctic Survey, Polar View’s Antarctic Node Manager, the new service “provides an interpreted picture of what the ice types are and their distribution, rather than leaving users to have to interpret various different products themselves.” The Norwegian Ice Service, which puts the ice charts together for Polar View, uses a variety of sources of data, including high-resolution passive microwave and SAR (synthetic aperture radar) data from AMSR-E (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth observing system) and ENVISAT ASAR (Advanced SAR) supplemented by MODIS (Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) optical data whenever possible. The service currently provides updated ice charts once per week, and will continue to do so until the very end of the Antarctic season in May. The service will start up again in late September at the start of next year’s Antarctic season. [To access the ice charts, please visit
www.polarview.aq/mapview.php
and choose the ‘Ice chart nu met.no’ tab at the top of the
page, or for further information please contact Andrew Fleming at andrew.fleming@polarview.org]
The Polar View 2005-2009: Final Report summarizes the operations and achievements of the Polar View consortium between 2005 and 2009. The report outlines the principal policy drivers and end user requirements for the Polar View services, the organization of the Polar View network and its governance structure, the elements comprising Polar View's portfolio of services, end user feedback on service performance and utility, major Polar View achievements, and the path forward towards future opportunities and challenges for the network. [To download a copy of the report, please click here]
Polar View sea ice service in the Antarctic, coordinated by the British Antarctic Survey, has greatly improved the service for the 2009/2010 Antarctic season. A combination of easier access through the new website and a significant increase in the number of images available means more real time sea ice information for users ranging from science vessels and tour ships to rescue missions. The new website now provides an interactive map displaying the latest imagery and sea ice information. Simple tools allow users to zoom into their area of interest and see recent cloud free satellite imagery from the European Space Agency. In combination with other information provided by partners in Denmark and Germany, anyone can access an up to date picture of current sea ice conditions, even on ships with limited internet access. The launch of this enhanced website was highlighted in an article in the European Science Foundation Newsletter (March 2010). The article noted that the range of users that access this Polar View service continues to expand, encompassing everyone from science vessels to tour ships to those co-ordinating rescue efforts. It also indicated that users will benefit from easier assess and more reguraly updated sea ice information than was previously available, all of which will make for a more comprehensive sea ice service for the Antartic region. [To access this new website, please visit www.polarview.aq. To read the full press release from the British Antarctic Survey please visit www.antarctica.ac.uk]
In a recent press release, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador boasted of the high level of expertise the province had in dealing with water management issues and the innovative technologies it had available to do so, and Polar View was mentioned as a key contributor to attaining this achievement. Innovative technologies at the province's disposal include the satellite services Polar View provides the province under the Badger River Ice Service. The service was set up in 2003 as a collaboration between the province and Canadian Polar View member C-CORE. It uses satellite imagery to monitor river ice for potential ice jam flooding along the Exploits River for residents of the small town of Badger, which is located downstream from potential areas where jams occur and is susceptible to highly damaging flooding. The press release mentions that "the flood monitoring service represents a major improvement in the flood forecasting capability for the residents of Badger, as the satellite imagery improves prediction of the timing of any impending floods." It also states that the service "has drawn international attention and is now used in several countries, including Russia where it is used on the Siberian Rivers - the Lena and the Yenissei." [To read the press release in full, please visit www.releases.gov.nl.ca, or to obtain more information about Polar View’s River Ice Monitoring Service Page] |
Since
the beginning of March,  |