AMSR-E
Advance Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS, an instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite.
ASAR
Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar, an in instrument on ESA's Envisat satellite.
ASAR WS
ASAR Wide Swath mode, with a swath width of 405 km and a pixel size of 150 metres.
CliC
Climate and Cryosphere Project, a core project of the World Climate Research Programme.
compression ridge
A ridge of sea ice built up as plates of ice are pushed towards each other and pile up.
CPOM
Centre for Polar Observation and Monitoring, a UK research centre funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.
cross-correlation
A measure of the similarity between the patterns of brightness in two images.
CryoSat
A satellite operated by the European Space Agency since 2010 carrying instruments designed for observing the cryosphere.
divergence
In fluid dynamics, a measure of a vector field's source or sink at a given point.
draft
The depth of the underside of an ice floe below the level of the sea surface.
DUE
Data User Element, part of ESA's Earth Observation Envelope Programme.
Envisat
A satellite operated by the European Space Agency since 2002.
ERS
Earth Remote Sensing Satellite, a series of two satellites operated by the European Space Agency from 1991-2011.
ESA
European Space Agency.
Eulerian
In fluid dynamics, refers to measurements of fluid motion on an equally-spaced grid. Named after the Swiss mathematician and physicist, Leonhard Euler.
freeboard
The height of the surface of an ice floe above the level of the sea surface.
GMES
Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security, a joint programme of the European Union and the European Space Agency.
IABP
International Arctic Buoy Program, a project to track drift bouys across the Arcitc Ocean.
IFREMER
Institut Francaise de Research pour l'Expoitation de la Mer.
JPL
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a NASA laboratory based at the California Institute of Technology.
KSPT
Kongsberg Spacetec, Norway.
lead
A long, thin area of open water within an area of sea ice.
Lagrangian motion
In fluid dynamics, refers to the motion of an individual parcel of fluid through time. Named after the French mathematician, Joseph-Louis Lagrange.
MSSL
Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London.
NASA
National Aeronautical and Space Administration, the US government's space agency.
netCDF
The data format used by the GlobICE products.
NSIDC
National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, Colorado.
RA
Radar Altimeter, a device for precisely measuring the distance from a satellite to the Earth's surface.
Radarsat
A series of two satellites operated by the Canadian Space Agency.
RGPS
Radarsat Geophysical Processor System, a software system developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
SAR
Synthetic Aperture Radar, an instrument on ESA's ERS satellites.
SEDNA
Sea ice Experiment - Dynamic Nature of the Arctic, an international project to deploy and track drift buoys in the Beaufort Sea.
Sentinel 1
An ESA satellite due to be launched in 2013.
shear
In fluid dynamics, the change of angle between two initially perpendicular lines per unit time.
SSM/I
Special Sensor Microwave/Imager, an instrument on the US Air Force DMSP satellites.
swath
The width of a satellite image, usually measured as a distance on the ground in a direction perpendicular to the satellite's track over the ground.
thermohaline circulation
The deep vertical circulation in the world's oceans, driven by the cold, salty water left behind when sea ice freezes in the polar regions. The higher salt concentration makes the water more dense, so it sinks to the ocean floor, where it circulates through the ocean basins. Eventually this "bottom water" returns to the surface at lower latitudes, and is carried back to the poles by the oceans' surface currents.
UCL
University College London, UK.
UKMO
The Met Office, UK.
UoA
University of Alberta, Canada.
vorticity
In fluid dynamics, a measure of the angular velocity at a given point.