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By Emily Lakdawalla


Borup Fiord Pass Field Report: Success at last for the satellite imaging

Jul. 10, 2006 | 11:19 PDT | 18:19 UTC

Bob Pappalardo emailed me this morning to let me know that the EO-1 satellite acquired a "makeup" image of the Borup Fiord Pass field site on July 6, the day the four fieldworkers left the site, and that it finally found a relatively cloudless day! The image is the one farthest to the right below. I thought I'd display the three satellite images acquired so far side-by-side to aid in attempts to match features between them. I believe that all three swaths are close to east-west in their orientation; east is to the top.

EO-1 Hyperion swath across Borup Fiord Pass
June 26
EO-1 Hyperion swath across Borup Fiord Pass
July 1
EO-1 Hyperion swath across Borup Fiord Pass
July 6

I realize now that you actually can see the glacier in the July 1 image, but it's pretty deeply shaded by clouds. I think they are still planning on one more imaging attempt tomorrow -- if that works, I'll be curious to see if we can spot any change in the snow cover.

To help visualize where those swaths are, here's a satellite map for context.
Satellite image of Borup Fiord Pass, Ellesmere Island, Canada
Click to enlarge >
Satellite image of Borup Fiord Pass, Ellesmere Island, Canada
Borup Fiord Pass is a north-south trending valley on Ellesmere Island. Many mountain glaciers spill into the valley from each side. The yellow dot indicates the location of sulfur-rich springs that seep through the ice. Credit: Courtesy of Stephen E. Grasby

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