NASA chooses UC San Diego to lead satellite mission to explore environmental sensitive regions of Earth

NASA has chosen a prominent UC San Diego scientist to lead a satellite mission that will more clearly map the edges of ice sheets and ice packs in Earth’s environmentally sensitive polar regions.

Glaciologist Helen Fricker also will be studying land and vegetation masses, gathering data that can be broadly used to assess the nature and health of some of the most isolated spots on Earth.

The research will be conducted with a cutting-edge Lidar imaging system that will be carried aboard the Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer, a new satellite that NASA is developing.The satellite isn’t expected to be launched for at least four years.

“EDGE will deliver greater global coverage than all prior missions combined, giving us the ability to monitor land, vegetation, land, ice and coastal regions simultaneously,” Fricker said in a statement.

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