Evaluation of Optical and Radar Satellite Imaging for Discriminating Sea-Ice Characteristics
Gennady I Belchansky
Institute for Evolution and Ecology
Russian Academy of Sciences
Lininsky prospect 33
Moscow, 117071
RUSSIA
Email: animals@sovamsu.sovusa.com
The researchers propose to assess the applicability of various SAR data (including Russian sources) types for investigating sea-ice characteristics. The satellite data analysis will be linked to the SHEBA ice-camp field study to provide "ground truth" to validate the remote sensing techniques.
Transport and Development of Sea Ice in the Eurasian Arctic, with Special Attention to Ice Rafting of Sediments
Hajo Eicken
Alfred-Wegener Institut
Postfach 120161
Bremerhaven, D-27515
GERMANY
Email: heicken@awi-bremerhaven.de
The researchers propose to use RADARSAT data to derive net export/import of sea ice for the Laptev Sea. A comprehensive field program to be carried out in the area in 1996 and 1997 will provide detailed data on the ice structure, thickness and properties, and in particular the sediment load. Furthermore, it is planned to trace "dirty ice" areas identified in the field throughout the year based on RADARSAT data, with particular emphasis paid to redistribution of sediments during the subsequent melt season.
Multi-Year Concentration from Satellite Passive and Active Microwave
Florence Fetterer
Remote Sensing Application Branch
Naval Research Laboratory
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-5004
USA
The researchers propose to use SAR data to map multi-year ice in the Arctic, using experience gained with ERS. One objective is to quantify that part of the variability in passive microwave estimates not accounted for by variability in SAR estimates of multi-year concentration. Another objective is to quantify and explain differences in backscatter for the same ice in RADARSAT and ERS data, and to develop a multi-year ice concentration algorithm for RADARSAT ScanSAR.
Mass Balance of the Arctic Ocean Sea Ice
Ronald Kwok
Mail Stop 300-325
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109-8099
USA
Email: kwok@kahuna.jpl.nasa.gov
The proposed work is to estimate the mass balance, defined as the difference between ice production and the sum of ablation and ice export, of the Arctic ocean sea ice using data products from the RADARSAT Geophysical Processor System (RGPS). This is a rather straight forward calculation if the sea ice motion field and ice thickness distributions are known exactly. In addition to using RADARSAT image data to estimate the thickness of new ice, the researchers will use submarine data, upward looking sonar and historical datasets to estimate the thickness of the older ice types. These thickness measurements and the motion fields available from the RGPS will be used to estimate the mass balance for different regions. They will use two years of RGPS products, and establish a data set for validation by the research community, and use it for a baseline data set.
Estimating Albedo and Summer Ice Melt with RGPS Products
Ronald Lindsay
Applied Physics Laboratory
University of Washington
1013 NE 40th Street
Seattle, WA 98106
Email: lindsay@apl.washington.edu
The researchers propose to use RADARSAT Geophysical Processor System (RGPS) products and albedo parameterizations to provide weekly maps of albedo throughout the first two summer seasons of RADARSAT. They will use the RGPS-produced weekly fields of sea ice motion, winter multiyear ice concentration, winter age and thickness distributions of first year ice, air temperature, ice divergence, and summer open water fraction, and also maps of the dates of melt onset and freeze-up. The RGPS-derived albedo estimates will be compared with and validated by estimates from the AVHRR and SCARAB satellite radiometers. Further, they propose to provide an albedo algorithm that can be incorporated into the future versions of the RGPS.
The Use of RADARSAT Data to Study Arctic Summer Ice Processes
Seelye Martin
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98105
USA
Email: seelye@ocean.washington.edu
The researchers propose to use RADARSAT data to measure sea ice melting in the Arctic, and to estimate the fresh water flux to the Arctic Ocean. The melting is driven by a combination of the incident solar radiation, and the fracture of large floes into small floes by the episodic passage of storms. Given that these storms occur about 6-8 times during summer, the researchers propose to follow the evolution of the ice cover at approximately weekly intervals, and determine the changes in these open water and ice floes for different regions of the Arctic. The goal is to derive the way in which the ice melts, relate it to the large-scale meteorological and ice motion fields, and then estimate the fresh water flux.
Lake Superior Ice Field Measurements for C-Band SAR Backscatter Signatures and Ice Cover Analysis with RADARSAT SAR, AVHRR, and SSM/I
Drew Pilant
Department of Geological Engineering
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI 49931
USA
Email: anpilant@mtu.edu
Great Lakes ice exhibits a range of physical characteristics distinct from those of small lakes and sea ice: roughness scales, ridging characteristics, thickness, motion dynamics, growth and decay processes, and the lack of brine. Great Lakes ice cover controls evaporation, modulates the winter energy flux and is an indicator of climate trends. The investigators propose field studies on Lake Superior ice to develop algorithms for extracting ice cover conditions from RADARSAT in combination with AVHRR and SSM/I observations.
Sea Ice and Ocean Processes in Baffin Bay: A Study Using RADARSAT Data and Numerical Modeling
Konrad Steffen
CIRES
Campus Box 216
University of Colorado - Boulder
Boulder, CO 80309
USA
Email: koni@seaice.colorado.edu
The goal of the research is to shed light on ice and ocean processes in Baffin Bay by combining RADARSAT and other remote sensing data with a coupled ice/ocean model to quantify Baffin Bay sea ice and ocean processes and their sensitivity to external forcing. The specific objectives of the research are to identify the sources and sinks of saline water, sea ice, and heat in Baffin Bay, as well as, deterine the magnitude and spatial pattern of their transports.
The Circulation and Characteristics of Weddell and Ross Sea Ice
Mark R. Drinkwater
Mail Stop 300-323
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109-8099
USA
Email: mrd@pacific.jpl.nasa.gov
The scientific objective of this proposal is to develop techniques for extracting ice characteristics from satellite microwave data acquired by RADARSAT over the Weddell and Ross Seas. The products of the study will serve as inputs to fine-resolution model estimates of surface fluxes of heat, salt, freshwater and momentum critical to the accurate parameterization of effects critical in the derivation of thermohaline and freshwater fluxes in the Southern Ocean.
RADARSAT in Support of the Antarctic Coastal Polynya Pilot Study
Vicki Lytle
Antarctic Co-operative Research Center
University of Tasmania
GPO Box 252C
Tasmania, 7001
AUSTRALIA
Email: vicky@minke.iasos.utas.edu.au
The researchers propose to use RADARSAT dat a in conjunction withother remote sensing tools (AVHRR, SSM/I) and an intensive ship-based field program, to estimate sea ice growth rates, and the associated oceanic/atmospheric heat fluxes and the ocean salt flux, an an Easter Antarctica coastal polynya. The RADARSAT data will be used prior to the actual field experiments to monitor the temporal and spatial variability of about six selected coastal polynyas from 110 to 150 deg. East longitude. These data will be examined to characterize the area of the polynya, and the seasonal and inter-annual variations in the sea ice drift rates around the continent. The results of these studies will be sued to choose the polynya that will be the subject of the intensive field program.
Spatial and Temporal Variability in Sea Ice Coverage West of the Antarctic Peninsula as Part of the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research Program
Raymond C. Smith
Department of Geography
Computer Systems Laboratory
University of California Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
USA
The PI proposes use of SAR data to monitor ice conditions as a contribution to the ongoing LTER program. The central hypothesis of the Palmer LTR is that annual variability in sea ice coverage is a major physical determinant of spatial and temporal changes in the structure and function of polar biota at all levels of the food web. From the PI's previous work with cloud-contaminated visible and IR data, it is obvious that all-weather sea ice data available from RADARSAT would be of fundamental importance, in particular, for the detection of leads, polynyas, and ice motion in the LTER region.
Iceberg Distribution and Southern Ocean Circulation
Neal Young
Earth Science Building
Australian Antarctic Division
University of Melbourne
Parkville, Victoria 3052
AUSTRALIA
Email: young@icevas.glaciol.un
Tracking the magnitude and direction of iceberg drift will give information on the mean ocean currents and their variability, particularly for the near-coastal currents, and the southern part of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. SAR data from RADARSAT will be analyzed to detect icebergs, measure their dimensions, and track their motion. The data will be validated against ship-board observations. The estimates of the current velocity will be compared to, and integrated with, ocean circulation data derived from other satellite sensors such as AVHRR and ERS-2.