An increased volume of Arctic sea ice has been detected in Canada despite the lowest winter extent recorded in the country, according to a recent satellite report.

The European Space Agency (ESA) unveiled the results of their five-year CryoSat satellite mission, revealing that the Arctic floes monitored in the north have become thicker by an average of 9.8 inches, or 17 percent, compared to the thinnest winter ice the agency detected in the region in 2013.

Imaging from the satellite showed a large portion of the Beaufort Sea was covered in ice. This area registered as bare water on the map based on the results from eight years ago.

The CryoSat satellite carried a radar altimeter designed to 'see' through clouds and even in the dark in order to provide continuous measurements the thickness of the polar ice.

Experts from the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) in the United Kingdom provided specialist data processing to create a comprehensive report of the findings published in the CPOM's official Cryosat website.

"This new capability goes far beyond CryoSat's original purpose, which was to collect measurements for scientific research," Professor Andy Shepherd, CPOM Director and the CryoSat's principal scientific advisor, said.

"The mission is now an essential tool for a wide range of services operating in areas of the planet where sea ice forms."

Scientists hope that the information gathered through the CryoSat satellite can help organizations working in the Arctic create a safer plan of operations.

By providing easier access to the data, it will improve people's understanding on the sensitivity of the environment with regards to climate change.

CPOM also said that they have also discovered that the thickness of the sea ice around Norway's Svalbard Archipelago has decreased. It is now half of what it was initially measured during the winter of 2011 after the CryoSat satellite was activated.

Shepherd explained the ocean conditions in Svalbard's Austfonna ice cap have sped up at extraordinary rates, and the fast decrease in sea ice thickness in this area of the Arctic is comparable to the impact seen in the Barents Sea.

The data from the CryoSat satellite was first tested in the spring of last year to guide the CPOM's scientists in their experiment in northern Greenland. Another test is scheduled during the Norwegian Polar Institute's Young Sea Ice mission in northern Svalbard.

Tommaso Parrinello, the CryoSat Mission Manager, said that the satellite mission has also revealed people's ignorance regarding several fundamental scientific questions.

The measurements provided by CryoSat are considered crucial for conducting operational and forecasting services around Arctic territories. This information will help pave the way for future missions according to Parrinello.

Photo: Thomas Leth-Olsen | Flickr

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