The Austrian remote sensing company ENVEO IT has become a new scientific member of the Austrian Polar Research Institute (APRI). This move is intended to strengthen collaboration within the Austrian polar research community and further enhance the international visibility of national research activities. At the same time, ENVEO is contributing its long-standing expertise in satellite-based observation of the cryosphere to the network.
ENVEO develops methods for deriving environmental parameters from satellite Earth observation data for use in research and practical applications. Its key areas of work include hydrology, water management and climate research. However, the company is particularly active in the field of the terrestrial cryosphere – that is, the monitoring of snow, glaciers and the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica.
A key focus is on high-resolution maps of the flow velocity of glaciers and ice sheets. These are based on radar data from the European Copernicus mission Sentinel-1, whose first satellites have been in operation since 2014. Using specially developed analysis methods, ENVEO produces continuously updated time series that document changes in ice movement with high spatial and temporal resolution. In particularly dynamic regions of Antarctica, new velocity maps are in some cases generated at intervals of just six to twelve days.
The data provide important insights into the state of the major ice sheets. For example, long-term measurements at the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica show a continuous acceleration in ice movement between 2014 and 2025. The increasing flow velocity leads to greater ice discharge into the ocean and thus contributes to the mass loss of the Antarctic ice sheet and, in the long term, to sea-level rise.
ENVEO also produces comprehensive ice velocity maps for Greenland. Around 55,000 Sentinel-1 images were analysed for the current dataset. The company combines traditional image correlation with radar interferometry (InSAR), enabling the precise mapping of both fast-flowing outlet glaciers and the slower-moving areas of the inland ice sheet. On this basis, the ice export from individual glaciers into the ocean can be calculated – a crucial parameter for determining the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet.
ENVEO’s work is supported by, amongst others, the ESA Climate Change Initiative, the ESA Polar Science Cluster and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). Since 2025, ENVEO has been leading the ‘Essential Climate Variables’ division for the terrestrial cryosphere within the C3S. At the same time, the company is already working on methods for upcoming Earth observation missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-1 Next Generation and ROSE-L, which are set to enable even more precise observations of the polar ice regions in future.
With the inclusion of ENVEO, APRI gains a partner that combines state-of-the-art satellite remote sensing with applied climate research. The continuous monitoring of the dynamics of Greenland and Antarctica not only provides valuable data for polar research but also improves our understanding of the impacts of climate change on global sea levels and the Earth system as a whole.
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal