ISPRS WG III/9

Cryosphere and Hydrosphere

Working Group Officers
Chair
	Rongxing (Ron) Li   College of Surveying and Geoinformation Tongji University 1239 Siping Road Shanghai CHINA 200092 + 86 21 65980773 + 86 21 65985123 rli@tongji.edu.cn home page
Co-Chair
	Beata Csatho   Department of Geology University at Buffalo, SUNY 126 Cooke Hall Buffalo, NY, 14260-1350 USA +1 716-645-4325 + 1 716-645-3999 bcsatho@buffalo.edu home page
Co-Chair
	Vittorio Barale   European Commission DG Joint Research Centre Directorate D – Sustainable Resources Unit D.02 Water and Marine Resources Office 27 00/32 – T.P. 270, Via E. Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra (VA) ITALY +39 0332 789274 +39 0332 789034 vittorio.barale@jrc.ec.europa.eu home page
Secretary
	Gang Qiao   College of Surveying and Geoinformation Tongji University 1239 Siping Road Shanghai, 200092 CHINA + 86 21 6598640 + 86 21 65985123 qiaogang@tongji.edu.cn home page

Terms of Reference

• Develop remote sensing data for assimilation in cryospheric and hydrological models
• Conduct assessment of errors in the retrieval of satellite cryospheric and hydrological parameters
• Assemble historical records of consistently derived geophysical parameters for studies of changes and trends in the cryosphere and hydrosphere
• Assess glacier and ice sheet mass loss and relationships to sea level rise with consideration of thermal expansion, tectonic causes and other factors.
• Investigate the asymmetry in the changes of sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic regions
• Study trends and changes in albedo at high latitudes and relationships with changes in snow cover and melt patterns
• Monitor variability and trends in surface temperature and how they affect snow cover, sea ice extent, glaciers and ice sheet volume, soil moisture and the permafrost regions
• Measure, characterize, understand, and predict the storage and transport of momentum, heat, water (salinity), and greenhouse gases in the ocean and the surface signatures (temperature, salinity, dynamic topography) of the ocean’s response to surface forcing (wind stress, fresh water, turbulent and radiative heat flux) from diurnal to decadal time scales, and from coastal to open oceans
• Understand the oceans’ role in the changes and interactions amongst the biological, chemical, and energy/water cycles in the oceans and their influence on terrestrial and cryospheric changes
• Help coordinate present and future remote sensing missions especially those related to ocean, snow/ice, and terrestrial hydrological observations, and provide expertise in the calibration, validation, and dissemination of the resulting data
• Develop early warning systems for natural disasters like droughts and floods