Remote sensing of the Antarctic and Andean cryosphere

ABSTRACT: The cryosphere encompasses the polar ice sheets (Antarctic and Greenland) and high-altitude snowy  areas, sea ice and frozen soils. It occupies 10% of the Earth's surface and regulates the water cycle, the atmospheric  processes and greenhouse gas stocks. Recent technological innovations associated with sensors and image processing  make it possible to carry out seasonal and multi-annual observations on a local, regional and global scale of  processes related to snow and ice in glacial and periglacial environments. The challenges are mainly linked to  advancing knowledge about glacial mass balance, glacier dynamics, variation in snow cover, surface melting  processes in snow and ice, glacier fluctuations, ocean-atmosphere interactions and sea ice variability. Furthermore,  with the increasing ice-free areas in polar regions and mountain environments, optical and radar sensors are also  applied in investigating disaster risk areas, processes related to permafrost and modern glacial depositional  environments