A new report from the National Research Council calls for the opening of classified imagery for climate study, stating that the future prediction of Arctic ice cover is hampered by a poor understanding of the processes and a lack of observation across both space and time.
“At a time when there is concern that Earth observation systems are decreasing and aging, releasing these images would be a step toward continuing the flow of critical information to the scientific community,” said Ralph J. Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences. “We hope that these images are the first of many that could help scientists learn how the changing climate could impact the environment and our society.”
During the 1990s, a program was started in which scientists recommended collection and archival of high-resolution classified imagery from intelligence sources at environmentally sensitive locations around the globe, with the eventual goal of declassifying and releasing the images to the broader scientific community for research purposes. In 1999, scientists requested that images of sea ice at four locations in the Arctic basin be collected during the summer months; two additional locations were added in 2005. Data have been collected at these sites during the summer months until the present day.
In later years of the program, images called Literal Imagery Derived Products (LIDPs) were produced from the classified data at a resolution deemed suitable for unclassified release. To date, several hundred unclassified LIDPs have been produced from the images collected at the six Arctic sites. If these sea-ice LIDPs are publicly released and disseminated to the Arctic research community, scientists could use them in conjunction with available commercial and civilian satellite data to provide new insight into critical physical processes and how these processes are represented in climate models, the committee said.
Some of the specific processes that could be explored from the images include the relationship of snow to ice-surface topography, the initiation and development of meltwater ponds in summer, and the relationship of stress and strain and how they are reflected in the pattern of cracks and other features in the ice. Moreover, the report says that the 2007 and 2008 images would greatly enhance the benefits and value of a broad range of intensive ground-based observations carried out during the Fourth International Polar Year (March 2007-March 2009). The summer 2007 sea-ice coverage minimum was a record-breaking low — more than 20 percent below the previous low in 2005 and nearly 40 percent below the 1979-2000 average minimum. Such a dramatic loss of sea ice could be investigated in more detail using the high-resolution imagery.
To maximize the fullest potential of the LIDP dataset in scientific research, the committee recommended that the release include thumbnail copies of the images, exact information on the location of the images, calibration information, the time of acquisition, and the information on the pointing angle.
Copies of the full report, “Scientific Value of Arctic Sea Ice Imagery Derived Products” can be downloaded here.
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