Team
The Ice Sheets project team comprises nine scientific and industrial partners from Denmark, Norway, UK, Greenland, Germany and Austria.
The team is organised as follows:
- Project Lead and Scientific Lead – The Danish Technical University, Space Department (DTU Space). The project’s Science Lead is Louise Sandberg Sørensen.
- Technical Project Management – Science [&] Technology AS (S[&]T)
- Earth Observation Science Team – led by ENVironmental Earth Observation IT GmbH (ENVEO)
- Systems Engineering Team – led by S[&]T in collaboration with ENVEO
- Climate Research Group – chaired by Dr Ruth Mottram (DMIS)
DTU Space is the project leader, responsible for the scientific coordination of the project, relations with ESA and communicating about the project to relevant scientific communities. DTU Space participates in this project with two divisions; the Geodynamics Department (DTU-GDK) and the Microwaves and Remote Sensing Department (DTU-MRS). Both these divisions have extensive experience with research projects concerning the Greenland ice sheet, and with processing of all relevant data sets (SAR and radar altimetry). DTU-GDK is also leading the scientific data processor development of the Surface Elevation Change (SEC) parameter.
S[&]T is responsible for the Ice Sheets CCI technical project management. It leads the development of the Optical Ice Velocity (Opt-IV) and of the machine learning-based Supraglacial Lakes extent (SGL) parameter.
ASIAQ Greenland survey is a public enterprise owned by the Government of Greenland and administered by the Ministry of Mineral Resources. It leads the validation and inter-comparison activity of all ECVs.
Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) with its Danish Climate Centre department, as an involved end-user, is leading the ECV product delivery to the climate and ice sheet models, as well as contributing to the user requirements analysis and the user assessment activities.
ENVEO is leading the development of the algorithms, including scientific data processor development regarding the SAR Ice Velocity (IV) parameters. They are participating in the Systems Engineering team, leading the EO Science team and supporting validation using optical data.
GEUS (The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland) is leading the product validation. GEUS also develops and produces the Mass Flow Rate and Ice Discharge (MFID) ECV.
Niels Bohr Institute (NBI) is leading the user requirements analysis and participating in the user assessment and ECV product delivery to modelling community tasks.
Technische Universität Dresden (TUDr) is co-leading the scientific data processor development of the Gravimetric Mass Balance (GMB) parameter including the Full Round Robin activity.
Northumbria University is contributing to the product validation and inter-comparison activity.
The Climate Research Group
The Climate Research Group (CRG) is a group of expert individuals associated with the Ice Sheets CCI. They are involved in understanding climate dynamics specifically related to the Ice Sheets Essential Climate Variables.
The CGR is headed by Dr Ruth Mottram who is a glaciologist and climate scientist at the Danish Meteological Institute, with a focus on the interaction between atmosphere, ocean and ice sheet, especially developing the HIRHAM suite of models. She is leading the Greenland part of EU project PROTECT 2020-24.
The following internationally renowned experts make up the rest of the CRG team:
- Dr Sofie Nowicki, University of Buffalo, USA: Ice sheet modeler, co-lead of ISMIP-6. Formerly researcher and deputy chief, NASA GSFC Cryosphere Lab.
- Karl Zinglersen, GIS and geospatial coordinator, Pinngortitaleriffik/Greenland Nature Institute, and member of DCE/GN joint data center for Nature and Environment
- Prof. Gudfinna Adalgeirsdottir, University of Iceland, a leading coupled ice/climate modeller and partner of several earlier EU and Nordic cryosphere projects.