Amazing Ice! How Scientists Use Satellites to Measure Ocean Ice Thickness!
Imagine a giant spaceship floating high above our Earth, like a super-duper spy in the sky! This spaceship is actually a satellite, and it’s like a super-smart camera that can see our planet in amazing detail. Scientists use these satellites to learn all sorts of cool things, and one of the most exciting is measuring how thick the sea ice (also called drift ice or pack ice) is in the oceans!
What is Sea Ice?
You know how when it gets really cold, water in puddles can freeze into ice? Well, the same thing happens in the ocean! When the water gets cold enough, it freezes and forms large floating sheets of ice. This is called sea ice. Sometimes, this ice breaks into smaller pieces that float around – we call these drift ice or pack ice. It’s like a giant puzzle of ice floating on the sea!
Why is Measuring Sea Ice Thickness Important?
Why do scientists care about how thick this ice is? Well, think about it like this:
- Polar Bears and Penguins: Many animals, like polar bears in the Arctic and penguins in the Antarctic, rely on sea ice to live, hunt, and raise their babies. If the ice gets too thin or disappears, it’s hard for them to survive. Measuring the thickness helps us understand if their homes are safe.
- Ships and Boats: Big ships need to know if the ice is too thick for them to sail through safely. It’s like a dangerous ice maze for them!
- The Earth’s Weather: Sea ice acts like a giant mirror, reflecting sunlight back into space. This helps keep our planet cool. If there’s less ice, the ocean absorbs more sunlight, and that can affect weather all over the world, even far away from the ice!
- Sea Level: When ice on land melts, it adds water to the ocean, making sea levels rise. But the ice we’re talking about is already floating in the ocean. Think of an ice cube in a glass of water. If the ice cube melts, the water level in the glass doesn’t really change! So, measuring sea ice helps us understand how it affects sea level differently than land ice.
How Do Satellites Measure Ice Thickness?
This is where the super-spy satellites come in! Scientists have developed clever ways for them to measure ice thickness without actually touching it. Here are some of the amazing tools they use:
- Radar Altimeters: Imagine shining a light beam down from the satellite and measuring how long it takes to bounce back from the surface of the ice. Radar altimeters do something similar, but they use invisible radio waves. By measuring the distance to the ice surface and comparing it to the distance to the ocean surface (which is usually lower), they can figure out how high the ice is sticking up. Scientists can then use special calculations to estimate the thickness of the ice that’s underwater!
- Microwave Radiometers: These instruments can detect the warmth or “brightness” of the ice. Different types of ice, and ice of different thicknesses, have slightly different temperatures. By looking at these “warmth signals,” scientists can learn about the ice.
- Looking at Pictures! Satellites also take amazing pictures of the Earth! By looking at how the ice looks, like if it’s smooth or broken, scientists can get clues about its thickness.
A Special Event!
Recently, on July 11, 2025, a special event happened! Scientists at 55 Engineering Faculties at National Universities shared new information about how they are using these satellite tools to observe the thickness of sea ice. This is super exciting because it means our understanding of this important part of our planet is getting better and better!
Get Involved in Science!
Isn’t it amazing what we can learn by looking up at the sky? Science is like a big adventure where we ask questions and find answers. If you’re curious about how things work, how animals live, or how our planet is changing, then science is for you!
You can start by:
- Looking at the clouds and the stars.
- Observing animals and plants around your home.
- Reading books and watching educational shows about space, animals, and our Earth.
- Asking lots and lots of “why” questions!
The scientists using satellites to measure ice are just like detectives solving a giant Earth mystery. Maybe one day, you’ll be a scientist exploring the mysteries of our amazing planet too!
The AI has delivered the news.
The following question was used to generate the response from Google Gemini:
At 2025-07-11 00:00, 国立大学55工学系学部 published ‘海氷（流氷）の厚さを衛星リモートセンシングで観測’. Please write a detailed article with related information, in simple language that children and students can understand, to encourage more children to be interested in science. Please provide only the article in English.