Global Interagency International Polar Year Polar Snapshot Year (GIIPSY)

By Kenneth Jezek, Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University and Mark Drinkwater, European Space Agency, ESTEC

The Global Interagency International Polar Year Polar Snapshot Year (GIIPSY) project aims to obtain high-resolution, broad spectral snapshots of the polar regions during 2007/08. Our primary purpose is to use these snapshots as gauges for comparing past and future environmental changes in the polar ice, ocean, and land. In the spirit of IGY, we also seek to secure these data sets as our legacy to the next generations of polar scientists.

GIIPSY comprises polar scientists from around the world who together have assembled a list of observing objectives that call upon the collective resources of the international space agencies. Our programmatic goal is to identify ways in which the resources of space-faring countries can be used in such a way as to achieve our science objectives without putting undo burden on any single organization. To that end, we seek cooperation in terms of spaceborne instruments, data relay systems, ground segments, processing, and archiving capabilities.

A general description of the GIIPSY program can be found at http://wwwbprc.mps.ohio-state.edu/rsl/GIIPSY/. Details on observational objectives can be found at: http://www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu/rsl/GIIPSY/index_files/GIIPSYScienceR.... Together, we have taken our detailed science requirements and distilled them into a table of thematic objectives, which are listed in Table 1. Topics range from permafrost to sea ice and include several acquisition objectives that would be the first of their kind.

Interaction between GIIPSY and the international flight agencies is coordinated through the IPY Space Task Group (STG), which is convened by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The first STG meeting occurred in Geneva, Switzerland, during January 2007. Participating agencies and organizations included: CMA, CNES. CSA, DLR, ESA, EUMETSAT, NASA, ROSHYDROMET, WCRP/IGOS, WMO. We will be joined in the future by INPE, JAXA, USGS and NOAA and have approached ISRO and ASI about their participation.

We presented GIIPSY goals and objectives at the STG meeting.

The agency representatives were enthusiastic about the objectives and adopted them as the guiding directives for STG activities. To that end, they have now begun the process of developing data set portfolios. The portfolios will ultimately constitute the IPY legacy data sets acquired by spaceborne instruments. Furthermore, and to better coordinate data acquisitions, the agencies agreed to form two acquisition subgroups – one concentrating on SAR/InSAR observations and one concentrating on high-resolution optical observations.

We believe that GIIPSY is significant for several reasons. First, the spaceborne data are a very important complement to other IPY observations if we are to understand changes in the polar regions and to predict the societal impact and consequences of future changes. Indeed satellite remote-sensing data represent one of the greatest technical measurement leaps beyond those which were available to IGY era scientists. Second, we think this activity provides a unique and very interesting venue for collaboration between the world’s space agencies. If successful, we think it can be a prototype for other and grander plans envisioned as part of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems.

The confluence of international science programs, technical capabilities, and IPY present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for gathering data essential for understanding changing polar climate and its global impact. We encourage interested scientists to become involved with GIIPSY. This can easily be done by contacting either one of the authors.

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