Cryorad: A Low Frequency Wideband Radiometer Mission for the Study of the Cryosphere

Earth's cold regions are key elements of the planet's climate system: they have strong feedbacks with global change and they have a direct impact on human activities. Despite their importance, at present they are not adequately monitored by state-of-the-art instruments. In order to fill this gap, a dedicated spaceborne mission called Cryorad has been proposed in the framework of the ESA Earth Explorer 10 call. The mission would comprise a 0.4-2 GHz nadir-looking radiometer installed on a polar-orbit satellite. Scientific and technical studies are underway, as well as experimental campaigns in Greenland and Antarctica.