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ABOUT POLAR VIEW Polar View offers integrated monitoring and forecasting services in the Polar Regions, as well as mid latitude areas, affected by ice and snow. Using satellite earth data, in combination with a number of sophisticated models and automatic tools, the satellite images are converted into produce that graphically illustrate the characteristics of the ice and snow on any given day. More specifically, our services take the form of enhance sea ice information (charts and forecasts) as well as ice-edge and iceberg monitoring data. We also provide monitoring services for lake and river ice, snow cover maps and glacier monitoring and assessment. Our mandate is to make earth observation more accessible to stakeholders interested in the Polar Regions. For the first decade of its operation, Polar View was a project supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission, with participation from the Canadian Space Agency, under the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme. In order to carry forward the significant momentum generated by Polar View and facilitate the continued collaboration of its members within a formalized network, Polar View was formally incorporated under the name Polar View Earth Observation Ltd. in the UK as of October 28, 2011.
Our team consists of companies, government agencies and research institutes across Europe and Canada and is likely the most experienced and comprehensive group in the world of polar EO experts. Each organization brings diverse and complementary skills to the Polar View program and is committed to establishing a dedicated service for addressing polar issues using earth observation technologies. Polar View has participants from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Polar View delivers services to stakeholder groups who are interested in issues related to sustainable economic development, marine safety, and the environment in the polar regions. These groups include policy makers, government departments, northern residents, and public agencies. Polar View also collaborates with the national ice centres to generate and provide expanded and more detailed information sets. In addition, Polar View provides information for certain private clients and commercial interests such as iceberg information to yacht races around the Antarctic and to hunters and trapper who travel and work in the North. Our users include:
Polar View's objective is to be the world's leading provider of EO services and products for environmental monitoring and safety in the polar regions. This goal has been achieved by building a cohesive international network that meets the following objectives:
The Polar View service portfolio has evolved to meet the key information needs of polar stakeholders that can be addressed with EO data. Current Polar View service lines include: 1. Sea Ice
Monitoring and Forecasting [To access our full service portfolio, please visit our Services Page]
Functionally, Polar View is a highly integrated network of regional nodes focused on the Baltic Sea, Europe and Russia, North America and the Antarctic. Each node has a Node Manager who is responsible for ensuring specific geographical stakeholders are effectively serviced. The following presents an overview of the Polar View Network:
Polar View services are designed to address a myriad of polar concerns on environmental protection, maintenance of traditional way of life, and safety and efficiency of marine transportation as well as sustainable development. Our monitoring and forecasting services provide accurate, real-time information that in many cases is not available from any other source and offer cost savings over existing monitoring alternatives. The use of satellites is becoming increasingly important as marine traffic increases, particular in the Baltic Sea area and the Southern Ocean, and as ice and snow patterns change rapidly and unpredictably due to the impact of global warming. Our services offer many benefits to both business and society including providing safe and efficient transportation routes for merchant vessels, icebreakers and cruise ships; guiding fishing and hunting expeditions for northern residents; improving flood protection and water resource management; monitoring polar fresh water cycles; and tracking sources of pollution, to name a few. Polar View has been an efficient catalyst for cooperation (e.g. international, public-private partnerships), for the use of Earth Observation (EO) technology, and for the dissemination of knowledge and information related to EO and polar issues. Specific benefits for stakeholders ensuing from their participation in Polar View include the following:
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