Ice coring
This method provides a precise and localised result but cannot allow average measurement determination.

The EM bird
This instrument was designed by the Alfred Wegener Institute (German Polar Institute). Slung under a helicopter some 15-20 metres above the ice, it instantaneously records the ice thickness profile. We will use this device, hung under an airship.
It emits a laser frequency whose echo describes the surface of the ice pack, and a low frequency electromagnetic beam which analyses the lower surface. The difference between the two gives the thickness profile.

The European Space Agency (ESA) satellites ERS and Envisat
These satellites already provide results on the ice surface, deformations, thickness variations and ice pack drift.

Cryosat
After the failure of the October 2005 launch, ESA decided to build a Cryosat 2. This satellite will be equipped with a SIRAL (SAR Interferometer Radar Altimeter) instrument which will measure the ice thickness. This new satellite will be launched in March 2009.