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Burnrate

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ICESAT-2
« on: September 15, 2018, 12:42:42 PM »
It should be launching today at 5:46 PDT.

What do you think the biggest contribution of the data will be?

It will have sample the altitude of the ice about every 2/3 of a meter for each of the six lasers and they say they can detect differences of 4 millimeters, crazy accuracy.  I can't wait to see those maps and plots.

It should definitely give a lot more information about Greenland ice sheet melt.

Neven

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #1 on: September 15, 2018, 12:44:01 PM »
Let's hope all goes well. Very important satellite, this.
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gerontocrat

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #2 on: September 15, 2018, 12:56:25 PM »
It should be launching today at 5:46 PDT.

What do you think the biggest contribution of the data will be?

It will have sample the altitude of the ice about every 2/3 of a meter for each of the six lasers and they say they can detect differences of 4 millimeters, crazy accuracy.  I can't wait to see those maps and plots.

It should definitely give a lot more information about Greenland ice sheet melt.
For Arctic Sea ice it should give lots of data to compare with what PIOMAS and other datasets are saying.

In combination with the GRACE Follow-On satellites comparisons with the SMB algorithms used by DMI and NSIDC.

I bet the list will go on, and on, and on.......

I bet a lot of scientists are already preparing their project funding bids.
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Niall Dollard

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #3 on: September 15, 2018, 01:44:06 PM »
« Last Edit: September 15, 2018, 02:42:50 PM by Niall Dollard »

Neven

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #4 on: September 15, 2018, 03:05:01 PM »
I just tuned in. I see a rocket flying!

One minute remaining until 'MICO'. Don't know what that is! But rocket continues to perform well, they say.  :)

Edit: Five minutes remaining in the burn.
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Niall Dollard

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #5 on: September 15, 2018, 03:10:41 PM »
Looking Good !

Neven

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #6 on: September 15, 2018, 03:24:27 PM »
And and interview with Tom Wagner to boot, my favourite climate dude.  ;D
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oren

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #7 on: September 15, 2018, 03:40:48 PM »
I just tuned in. I see a rocket flying!

One minute remaining until 'MICO'. Don't know what that is! But rocket continues to perform well, they say.  :)

Edit: Five minutes remaining in the burn.
I think you meant Main Engine Cutoff (MECO).

Niall Dollard

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #8 on: September 15, 2018, 04:04:37 PM »
It's a little blurry but this was the moment when ICESat-2 separated from the Delta 2 rocket.

FritzM

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2018, 01:03:22 PM »
I wish the pic was a bit better quality, but it was an exciting moment nonetheless. Beautiful stuff.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #10 on: September 30, 2018, 08:19:59 PM »
NASA ICE (@NASA_ICE) 9/30/18, 1:53 PM
The #ICESat2 laser is on, and has fired its first photons!
10,000 pulses each second, hundreds of trillions of photons with each pulse- all to measure the height of earth’s surface.
#pewpewpew
https://twitter.com/nasa_ice/status/1046458132954779649
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Phil42

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #11 on: October 05, 2018, 02:25:59 PM »
ICESat-2 Laser Fires for 1st Time, Measures Antarctic Height

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/icesat-2-laser-fires-for-1st-time-measures-antarctic-height

"Next up for ICESat-2 is a suite of procedures to optimize the instrument, Neumann said, including tests to ensure the laser is pointing at the precisely correct angle and lasing at the precisely correct wavelength to allow as many photons as possible to hit the detector.


“It will take a couple of additional weeks,” he said, “but about one month after launch we’ll hopefully start getting back some excellent science-quality data.
”"

oren

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #12 on: October 05, 2018, 04:11:07 PM »
Great news.

gerontocrat

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Re: ICESAT-2 & GRACE Follow-ON
« Reply #13 on: November 07, 2018, 10:06:23 PM »
I think GRACE Follow-On is important enough to share this thread?

https://phys.org/news/2018-11-grace-fo-resumes.html

November 6, 2018, NASA

GRACE-FO resumes data collection
Quote
The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission has resumed collecting science-quality data and planned in-orbit checks after successfully completing a switchover to a backup system in the microwave instrument (MWI) on one of the mission's twin spacecraft. The in-orbit checks include calibrations and other system tests, and are expected to continue until January, when GRACE-FO will enter the science phase of its mission.
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Phil42

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #14 on: December 13, 2018, 12:31:13 PM »
ICESat-2 seems to be off to a good start. NASA released this article 2 days ago.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/icesat-2-reveals-profile-of-ice-sheets-sea-ice-forests

Here is the section of the article that I find most interesting.

Quote
The first months of ICESat-2 data collected over Arctic and Antarctic sea ice reveal thin ice, thick ice, and features such as ice ridges. Areas of open water in the cracks between the ice floes, called leads, stand out in the data because of the difference in reflectivity between ice and water. By comparing the height of that water surface in the leads with the height of the ice, scientists are estimating ice freeboard and thickness. With the high precision of ICESat-2, plus the satellite’s six beams taking data simultaneously, researchers will have an unprecedented understanding of the thickness of sea ice, which will be used to help improve climate modeling and forecasts.


Plus, the ability to identify newly formed, thin ice will help researchers track the seasonal changes in remote polar regions, and understand the processes that drive those processes. The ice-thickness data will also help scientists improve computer models of how sea ice responds to Arctic warming, as well as forecasts of sea ice cover.


“We’ll have much higher resolution of where it’s ice and where it’s water in the marginal ice zones, where the compact ice cover meets the ocean, during melt and freeze-up,” Kwok said. “That’s going to be new science to think about.

And also:

Quote
Mission managers expect to release the data to the public in early 2019.

Neven

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #15 on: December 13, 2018, 12:47:14 PM »
Thanks, Phil!
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Jim Hunt

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #16 on: December 13, 2018, 09:06:05 PM »
ICESat-2 seems to be off to a good start. NASA released this article 2 days ago.

There is more:

Quote
Photons returning from over the ocean trace individual waves. In clear coastal areas, the bathymetry is visible, sometimes as deep as 80 feet (25 meters), which could help with research including storm surge modeling, Magruder said.

And as ICESat-2 orbits over forests, it can distinguish not only the tops of trees but also the inner canopies and the forest floor.... By measuring tree heights globally, the ICESat-2 mission will be able to improve estimates of how much carbon is stored in forests.
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pikaia

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #17 on: December 18, 2018, 09:52:48 AM »

oren

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #18 on: December 18, 2018, 09:59:44 AM »

kassy

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #19 on: January 19, 2019, 05:15:30 PM »
Shutdown imperils NASA’s decadelong ice-measuring campaign

IceBridge, a decadelong NASA aerial campaign meant to secure a seamless record of ice loss, has had to sacrifice at least half of what was supposed to be its final spring deployment, its scientists say. The shortened mission threatens a crucial plan to collect overlapping data with a new ice-monitoring satellite called the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat)-2.

This year’s 8-week Arctic campaign was set to start 4 March from Thule Air Base in Greenland. But the shutdown has delayed maintenance and outfitting of the aircraft NASA uses—a low-flying P-3 Orion—forcing a later start date.

Researchers are crestfallen. The measurements are among IceBridge’s most important because they will be simultaneous with those made by ICESat-2, which launched in September 2018. That will help ensure the satellite’s accuracy and calibrate its results with past records. “We expected to be in an ideal position this spring,” Sonntag says. (He can talk to the media, he noted, because he is a NASA contractor who is still getting paid. Many NASA employees on his team are furloughed.)

and more:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/01/shutdown-imperils-nasa-s-decadelong-ice-measuring-campaign
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Steven

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Re: ICESAT-2
« Reply #20 on: January 19, 2019, 10:19:11 PM »
ICESat-2 seems to be off to a good start. NASA released this article 2 days ago.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/icesat-2-reveals-profile-of-ice-sheets-sea-ice-

There's also a video about ICESat-2 from the December 2018 AGU Fall Meeting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1011&v=p3GyW-DAS3A

At about minute 17 of the video, there are some preliminary results about the freeboard of the Arctic sea ice + snow at the beginning of this freezing season: