The South Pole (Antarctica) represents: 80% of the Earth's fresh water reserves.   28 times the surface area of France, covered by ice which is 2 to 3 kilometers thick.   If all this ice melted, the ocean level would rise by 70 meters.

In addition to the biodiversity of their oceans, and acting as indicators for the ozone layer and the history of our climate, the poles play a fundamental role in atmospheric circulation and regulating our climate. In fact, they create a climatic equilibrium by absorbing the extreme heat in the equatorial region, and acting on marine currents such as the Gulf Stream.

But these ice fields are increasingly fragile, and each year a disaster seems to loom even closer.

Earth observation from space has enabled up to measure the regression of the ice caps at about 8% per decade, and it becoming increasing urgent to predict the rate of change.

Satellites complement various ground-based methods used to measure ice thickness: probes, sensors, helicopter or airship-mounted radar. Space altimeters such as Siral are especially useful in gathering data from all far-flung regions, difficult to access by other means.

What role do space systems play in studying the environment and climate change?
Space-based technologies allow scientists to carry out long-term studies of changes and upheavals affecting our plant, providing an excellent complement to ground-based measurements.

Observation satellites and instruments developed by Thales Alenia Space are used for a wide range of applications:

• Oceanography: monitoring of pollution, maritime resources, currents, tides, etc.
• Climatology and meteorology: global observation of clouds and aerosols with Calipso; climate observation with SMOS, and especially the Meteosat weather satellites.
• Risk management, through GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Safety), etc.

Thales Alenia Space produces powerful, reliable instruments, used by the scientific community to gather data to test their theories.
The people at Thales Alenia Space are fully committed to supporting these dedicated scientists each and every day, thus helping to advance our understanding of the all-important environment.

“Man must rise above the Earth, to the limits of the atmosphere and beyond, for it is only by doing so that he will fully understand the world in which he lives.” Socrate.