Group activities and news

New studies examine snow depth retrieval methods over sea ice using multi-frequency air- and spaceborne altimetry

07 October 2022
Two recent publications in The Cryosphere present advancements in estimating snow depth over sea ice using multi-frequency altimetry, ahead of the European Space Agency's CRISTAL mission. In Part 1, researchers used data from an airborne campaign (CRYO2ICEANT22) utilising Ka-, Ku-, and C/S-band radars, along with a near-infrared lidar, to assess microwave penetration into the snowpack on Antarctic summer sea ice. The findings revealed that Ka- and Ku-band radars have limited penetration, with primary scattering occurring at the air–snow interface or within the snowpack, challenging traditional assumptions used in retrieval methodologies. Part 2 extended these observations by comparing the airborne estimates with near-coincident CryoSat-2 and ICESat-2 (CRYO2ICE), where it was shown that further work is required to validate such retrieval methods planned for CRISTAL, emulated by the CRYO2ICE data. 

Antarctica is undergoing ‘Greenlandification’

3 October 2025
A new Nature Geoscience study shows Antarctica is undergoing “greenlandification,” with ice loss processes similar to Greenland. DTU Space contributed key expertise from decades of satellite observations of Greenland’s ice, providing vital context for interpreting Antarctic change. As Senior Scientist Sebastian B. Simonsen notes, this knowledge transfer strengthens forecasts of sea level rise and supports future climate adaptation. Read more here.

Bias in modelled Greenland melt extent revealed by ASCAT satellite observations in a recent publication

12 August 2025
A new study pinpointing differences in regional climate model (RCM) melt extent using observations from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) is out! The paper was led by our PhD Student Anna Puggaard in collaboration with Senior Researcher Sebastian Simonsen and Professor Louise Sandberg Sørensen, as well as colleagues from DMI, GEUS, and ENVEO, where Anna also spent several months at ENVEO and GEUS on different research stays. Finally, this paper also marks the first publication of Anna's PhD! Interested? Read the publication here.

Senior Researcher Sebastian Bjerregaard Simonsen joins the EU Advisory Board for Destination Earth

8 August 2025
Destination Earth is an initiative to develop a digital twin of the planet to improve understanding and prediction of climate change and its impacts. The appointment recognises Sebastian Bjerregaard Simonsen's scientific expertise in climate modelling and Earth observation, placing DTU at the forefront of one of the EU’s most ambitious digital projects. Read more about this appointment in this news story. Sebastian is also the project science lead of the Digital Twin Ice Sheet project, which you can read more about here. 

Inaugural Lecture of Professor in Cryosphere Change, Louise Sandberg Sørensen

24 January 2025
Today, our group leader and newly appointed Professor Louise Sandberg Sørensen held her inaugural lecture. It was a captivating lecture on satellite stories of climate change in the cryosphere and her contributions to better understanding the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet and its hydrology, which was followed up by a reception with colleagues, family, and friends.