The poorly understood dynamic response of the ice sheets to climate change is one of the major sources of uncertainty in forecasts of global sea-level rise. DESDynl’s InSAR measurements of the variations in ice-flow patterns and velocities provide important constraints on their dynamic response to climate change. Such knowledge will help to determine how fast society must adapt to sea-level changes and is crucial in planning the allocation of scarce resources.

Background: Earth’s surface and vegetation cover change on a wide range of time scales. Measuring the changes globally from satellites would enable breakthrough science with important applications to society. Fluid extraction or injection into subterranean reservoirs results in deformation of Earth’s surface. Monitoring the deformation from space provides information important for managing hydrocarbons, CO₂, and water resources. Natural hazards—earthquakes, volcanos, and landslides—cause thousands of deaths and the loss of billions of dollars each year. They leave a signature surface-deformation signal; measuring the deformation before and after the events leads to better risk management and understanding of the underlying processes. Climate change affects and is affected by changes in the carbon inventories of forests and other vegetation types. Changes in those land-cover inventories can be measured globally. Socioeconomic risks are related to the dynamics of the great polar ice sheets, which affect ocean circulation and the water cycle and drive sea-level rise and fall. Those processes are quantifiable globally, often uniquely, through space-based observations of changes of the surface and overlying biomass cover.

Science Objectives: Surface-deformation data provide the primary means of recording aseismic processes, provide constraints on interseismic strain accumulation released in large and damaging earthquakes, characterize the migration of large volumes of magma from deep within Earth to its surface (volcanos), and can be used to quantify the kinematics of active landslides. Earthquakes result from the accumulation of stress in Earth; because the crust behaves as an elastic material, the strain changes observable via InSAR can be used to determine stress changes and can lead to improved earthquake forecasts. Subterranean magma movement results in surface deformation. Observations of surface deformation via InSAR, particularly when combined with seismic observations, make volcanos among the natural hazards that can be predicted most reliably. Exploitation of hydrocarbon reservoirs also results in surface deformation, typically as the result of fluid withdrawal but also as the result of injection of fluids to stimulate production. It is often difficult to predict the trajectories of injected fluids, but observations of surface deformation can provide the needed constraints to improve the predictions. Observations of surface deformation also can be used to monitor the integrity of CO₂-sequestration wells.

The horizontal and vertical structure of ecosystems is a key feature that enables quantification of carbon storage, the effects of such disturbances as fire, and species habitats. Above-ground woody biomass and its associated below-ground biomass store a large pool of terrestrial carbon. Quantifying changes in the size of the pool, its horizontal distribution, and its vertical structure resulting from natural and human-induced perturbations, such as deforestation and fire, and the recovery processes is critical for measuring ecosystem change.

The dynamics of ice sheets are still poorly understood because their strength depends heavily on their temperature, their water content, conditions at their base, and even their history of deformation. Direct observations of how ice sheets deform in response to changes in temperature, precipitation, and so on, are crucial for understanding these important drivers of global sea-level change.

Mission and Payload: The DESDynl mission combines two sensors that together provide observations important for solid Earth (surface deformation), ecosystems (terrestrial vegetation structure), and climate (ice dynamics). The sensors are (1) an L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system with multiple polarization

Front Matter (R1-R26)

Executive Summary (1-16)

Part I: An Integrated Strategy for Earth Science and Applications from Space, 1 Earth Science: Scientific Discovery and Societal Applications (17-26)

2 The Next Decade of Earth Observations from Space (27-60)

3 From Satellite Observations to Earth Information (61-78)

Part II: Mission Summaries, 4 Summaries of Recommended Missions (79-140)

Part III: Reports from the Decadal Survey Panels, 5 Earth Science Applications and Societal Benefits (141-151)

6 Human Health and Security (152-189)

7 Land-Use Change, Ecosystem Dynamics, and Biodiversity (190-216)

8 Solid-Earth Hazards, Natural Resources, and Dynamics (217-256)

9 Climate Variability and Change (257-303)

10 Weather Science and Applications (304-337)

11 Water Resources and the Global Hydrologic Cycle (338-380)

Appendix A Statement of Task (381-384)

Appendix B Biographical Information for Committee Members and Staff (385-391)

Appendix C Blending Earth Observations and Models -- The Successful Paradigm of Weather Forecasting (392-409)

Appendix D Request for Information from Community (410-412)

Appendix E List of Responses to Request for Information (413-422)

Appendix F Acronyms and Abbreviations (423-428)