Aug 25, 2010 11:02 GMT  ·  By

A team of researchers from the Bremerhaven, Germany-based Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research is now taking on a very difficult task – measuring ice thickness in Arctic regions.

This line of study involves flying a high-tech research airplan over regions of the Arctic that have never before been touched or seen by humans.

The end goal of the investigation is to create a clear image of the ice sheets at the targeted locations, in such a way that those modeling climate change using computers will no longer have to rely only on statistics data in their work.

Satellites can indeed be used to look at how fast the ice is moving from one location to another, or in order to determine how much of the frozen water melts over a period of time.

But using the space-based capabilities to chart the thickness of the ice is still tricky and unreliable.

“Taking off on the measurement flights from Station Nord here is a special adventure. Flying through virtually unsettled regions of the Arctic in the high-tech research aircraft is a stark contrast to my modeling work on the computer,” says Rüdiger Gerdes.

The expert holds an appointment at the Alfred Wegener Institute. He explains that the flybys he and his team will do over the Arctic Ocean will take place this week, OurAmazingPlanet reports.

“I'm very keen on seeing the results of the sea ice thickness measurements. Only when we know the distribution of ice of varying thickness can we calculate how much freshwater is carried out of the Arctic Ocean via ice,” the expert adds.

The research initiative took its first analysis flight on August 18, according to AWI communications officer Folke Mehrtens. The Institute is a part of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.

“I got an e-mail from campaign leader Rüdiger Gerdes yesterday that three long transects have been finished successfully, registering sea ice thickness and several other parameters," Mehrtens said in a recent press release.

Analyzing the Arctic is of extreme importance for understanding global climate, given that they are is easily influenced by changes taking place elsewhere on the planet.

As more and more greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, rising temperatures promote the melting of glaciers in the Arctic, Antarctic, and on mountaintops.

Researchers around the world are keeping an eye on things, in order to understand how the devastating phenomenon is carrying on.