Studying mountain glacier processes using a staring instrument

Mountain glaciers around the globe are retreating rapidly, but the exact mechanisms causing the retreat are not well understood. Is warming of the atmosphere the key driver? What are the roles of changes in surface albedo due to contaminants and snow optical grain size and surface roughness? Improved understanding of the response of mountain glaciers to global and environmental change is key to answering these questions. A staring instrument that provides measurements from multiple viewing and illumination angles enables simultaneous measurement of 3D surface structure, including texture, material characteristics, and albedo. Such measurements make it possible to determine melt due to absorbed solar energy separately from melt due to other sources. The International Space Station (ISS) provides a possible host platform for a staring instrument that could access all tropical and most temperate mountain glaciers. The non-sun-synchronous orbit enables varying solar illumination angles.