D.A. Rothrock

Dr. Rothrock investigates properties of sea ice that affect its balance of mass, heat, and momentum, including ice motion, ice thickness, and floe and lead size geometries. Past work has focused on measuring these properties from satellite images in the microwave, visible, and thermal infrared regions of the spectrum. He is interested in estimating geophysical variables by assimilating observations into models. His most recent work involves the interpretation of sea ice draft data from submarine upward-looking sonars. These observations which cover large portions of the Arctic Ocean over several decades give us historical data on the evolution of the arctic sea ice cover. Dr. Rothrock joined the Polar Science Center in 1971, working on AIDJEX, the Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment.

Reviewed Publications (reverse chronological order)

Rothrock, D.A. and M. Wensnahan, The accuracy of sea-ice drafts measured from U. S. Navy submarines, J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., in press, 2007.

Wensnahan, M., D. A. Rothrock and P. Hezel, New arctic sea ice draft data from submarines, EOS, 88(5), 55-6, 2007.

Percival, D.B., D.A. Rothrock, A.S. Thorndike, and T. Gneiting, The variance of mean sea-ice thickness: Effect of long-range dependence, J. Geophys. Res., submitted, 2006.

Zhang, J., and D.A. Rothrock, Effect of sea-ice rheology in numerical investigations of climate, J. Geophys. Res., 110, C08014, doi: 10.1029/2004JC002599, 2005.

Wensnahan, M. and D.A. Rothrock: Sea-ice draft from submarine-based sonar: Establishing a consistent record from analog and digitally recorded data, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L11502, doi:10.1029/2005GL022507, 2005.

D.B. Percival and D.A. Rothrock: "Eyeballing" Trends in Climate Time Series: A Cautionary Note, J. Clim., 18(6),886-891, 2005.

Rothrock, D.A., and J. Zhang, Arctic Ocean sea ice volume: What explains its recent depletion?,  J. Geophys. Res., 110, C01002, doi:10.1029/2004JC002282, 2005.

Zhang, J., M. Steele, D.A. Rothrock, and R.W. Lindsay, Increasing exchanges at Greenland-Scotland Ridge and their links with the North Atlantic Oscillation and Arctic sea ice, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L09307, doi:10.1029/2003GL019304, 2004.

Yu Y., G.A. Maykut, and D.A. Rothrock, Changes in the Thickness Distribution of Arctic Sea Ice Between 1958-70 and 1993-79, J. Geophys. Res., 2004.

Zhang, J., D.R. Thomas, D.A. Rothrock, R.W. Lindsay, Y. Yu, and R. Kwok, Assimilation of ice motion observations with submarine ice thickness data, J. Geophys. Res., 108(C6), 3170-3187, 2003.

Rothrock, D.A., J. Zhang, and Y. Yu, 2003: The arctic ice thickness anomaly of the 1990s: A consistent view from observations and models, J. Geophys. Res., 108 (C3), 3038 (28-37) doi:10.1029/2001JC001208, 2003.

Lindsay, R.W., J. Zhang, and D.A. Rothrock: Sea ice deformation rates from measurements and in a model, Atmosphere-Ocean, 41(1), 35-47, 2003.

Zhang, J., and D.A. Rothrock: Modeling global sea ice with a thickness and enthalpy distribution model in generalized curvilinear coordinates, Mon. Wea. Rev., Vol. 131, No. 5, 81-697, 2003.

Babko O., D.A. Rothrock, and G.A. Maykut, Role of Rafting in the Mechanical Redistribution of Sea Ice Thickness, J. Geophys. Res., 107, 10.1029/1999JC00190, 2002.

Zhang, J. and D.A. Rothrock, Modeling Arctic Sea ice with an efficient plastic solution, J. Geophys. Res, 105(C2), 3325-3338, 2000.

Rothrock, D.A., R. Kwok, and D. Groves, Satellite views of the Arctic Ocean freshwater balance, in The Freshwater Budget of the Arctic Ocean, edited by E.L. Lewis et al., 409-451, Kluwer, the Netherlands, 2000.

Zhang, J., D.A. Rothrock, and M. Steele, Recent changes in Arctic Sea ice: The interplay between ice dynamics and thermodynamics, J. Clim., 13, 3099-3114, 2000.

Rothrock, D.A., Y. Yu, G.A. Maykut, 1999. Thinning of the arctic sea-ice cover, Geophys. Res. Lett., 26(23), 3469-72.

Kwok, R., and D.A. Rothrock, Variability of Fram Strait Ice flux and the North Atlantic oscillation, J. Geophys. Res., 104 (C3)5177-5190, 1999.

Kwok, R., A. Schweiger, D.A. Rothrock, S. Pang, and C. Kottmeier, Assessment of sea ice motion from sequential passive microwave observations with ERS and buoy ice motions, J. Geophys. Res. (Oceans), 103(C4), 8,191-8,214, 1998.

Zhang, J., W. D. Hibler III, M. Steele, and D. A. Rothrock, Arctic ice-ocean modeling with and without climate restoring, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 28(2), 191-217, 1998.

Zhang, J., D.A. Rothrock, and M. Steele, Warming of the Arctic Ocean by a strengthened Atlantic inflow: model results, Geophys. Res. Lett., 25, 1745-1748, 1998.

Zhang, J., W. Hibler, M. Steele, and D.A. Rothrock, Arctic ice-ocean modeling with and without climate restoring, J. Phys. Oceanog., 28(2), 191-217, 1998.

Lindsay, R.W., J.A. Francis, P.O.G. Persson, D.A. Rothrock, and A.J. Schweiger, Surface Turbulent fluxes over pack ice inferred from TOVS observations, Ann. of Glac., 25, 393-399, 1997.

Rothrock, D.A., and J. Zhang, Surface downwelling radiative fluxes: Ice model sensitivities and data accuracies, Workshop on Polar Processes in Global Climate, 13-15 November 1996, Cancun, Mexico, Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., D(VT)200, 119-121, 1997.

Steele, M., J. Zhang, D. Rothrock, and H. Stern, The force balance of sea ice in a numerical model of the Arctic Ocean, J. Geophys. Res., 102(C9), 21,061-21,079, 1997.

Lindsay, R.W., D.B. Percival, and D.A. Rothrock, The discrete wavelet transform and the scale analysis of the surface properties of sea ice, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Rem. Sens., 34(3), 771-787, 1996.

Thomas, D.R., S. Martin, D.A. Rothrock, and M. Steele, Assimilating satellite concentration data into an Arctic Sea ice mass balance model, 1979-1985, J. Geophys. Res., 101(C9), 20,849-20,868, 1996.

Steele, M., D.R. Thomas, D.A. Rothrock, and S. Martin, A simple model study of the Arctic Ocean freshwater balance, 1979-1985, J. Geophys. Res., 101(C9), 20,833-20,848, 1996.

Yu, Y., and D.A. Rothrock, Thin ice thickness from satellite thermal imagery, J. Geophys. Res., 101(C10), 25,753-25,766, 1996.

Stern, H.L., D.A. Rothrock, and R. Kwok, Open water production in the Arctic sea ice cover: Satellite measurements and model parameterizations, J. Geophys. Res., 100(C10), 20,601-20,612, 1995.

Lindsay, R.W., and D.A. Rothrock, Arctic Sea ice leads from advanced very high resolution radiometer images, J. Geophys. Res., 100(C3), 4533-4544, 1995.

Kwok, R., D.A. Rothrock, H.L. Stern, and G.F. Cunningham, Determination of the age distribution of sea ice from Lagrangian observations of ice motion, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Rem. Sens., 33(2), 392-400, 1995.

Yu, Y., D.A. Rothrock, and R.W. Lindsay, Accuracy of sea ice temperature derived from the advanced very high resolution radiometer, J. Geophys. Res., 100(C3), 4,525-4,532, 1995.

Lindsay, R. and D.A. Rothrock, Arctic sea ice albedo from AVHRR, J. Climate, 7, 1737-1749, 1994.

Lindsay, R. and D.A. Rothrock, Arctic sea ice surface temperature from AVHRR, J. Climate , 7(1), 174-183, 1994.

Lindsay, R. and D.A. Rothrock, The calculation of surface temperature and albedo of arctic sea ice from AVHRR, Ann.Glac., 17, 391-397, 1993.

Steffen, K., R. Bindschadler, C. Casassa, J. Comiso, D. Eppler, F. Fetterer, J. I. Hawkins, J. Key, D. Rothrock, R. Thomas, R. Weaver, and R. Welch, Snow and ice applications of AVHRR in polar regions: report of a workshop held in Boulder, Colorado, 20 May, 1992, Ann.of Glac., 17, 1-16, 1993.

Thomas, D.R. and D.A. Rothrock, The Arctic Ocean ice balance: A Kalman smoother estimate, J. Geophys. Res., 98(C6), 10,053-10,067, 1993.

Thomas, D.R., Arctic sea ice signatures for passive microwave algorithms, J. Geophys. Res., 98(C6), 10,037-10,052, 1993.

Rothrock, D.A. and D.R. Thomas, Ice Modeling and data assimilation with the Kalman smoother, in Microwave Remote Sensing of Sea Ice, edited by F. Carsey, 405-418 (American Geophysical Union, 1992).

Holt, B., D.A. Rothrock, and R. Kwok, Determination of sea ice motion from satellite images, in Microwave Remote Sensing of Sea Ice, edited by F. Carsey, 343-354 (American Geophysical Union, 1992).

Fily, M. and D.A. Rothrock, Opening and closing of sea ice leads: Digital meaurements from SAR. J. Geophys. Res., 95(C1), 789-796, 1990.

Rothrock, D.A., and D.R. Thomas, The Arctic Ocean multiyear ice balance, 1979-1982. Ann. Glac., 14, 252-255, 1990.

Thomas, D.R. and D.A. Rothrock, Blending sequential SMMR and buoy data into a sea ice model, J. Geoph. Res.,94(C8), 10,907-10,920, 1989.

Rothrock, D.A., D.R. Thomas, and A.S. Thorndike, Principal component analysis of satellite passive microwave data over sea ice. J. Geophys. Res., 93(C3), 2321-2332, 1988.

Fily, M., and D.A. Rothrock, Sea ice tracking by nested correlations. IEEE Trans. on Geosci. and Remote Sensing, GE-25(5), 570-580, 1987.

Hall, R.T., and D.A. Rothrock, Photogrammetric observations of the lateral melt of sea ice floes. J. Geophys. Res., 92(C7), 7045-7048, 1987.

Carsey, F.D., B. Holt, S. Martin, L. McNutt, D.A., Rothrock, V.A. Squire, and W.F. Weeks, Weddell-Scotia Sea marginal ice zone observations from space, October 1984. J. Geophys. Res., 91(C3), 3920-3924, 1986.

Fily, M. and D.A. Rothrock, Extracting sea ice data from satellite SAR imagery. Presented at Int'l. Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium; 7-9 October 1985; Amherst, MA. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, GD-24(6), 849-854, 1986.

Rothrock, D.A., Ice thickness distribution--measurement and theory. In: The Geophysics of Sea Ice (N.Untersteiner, editor), Plenum Publ. Corp., New York, NY, 551-575, 1986.

Rothrock, D.A., and A.S. Thorndike, Measuring the sea ice floe size distribution. J. Geophys. Res., 89(C4), 6477-6486, 1984.

Hall, R.T., and D.A. Rothrock, Sea ice displacement from SEASAT synthetic aperture radar. J. Geophys. Res., 86(C11), 11,078-11,082, 1981.

Colony, R., and D.A. Rothrock, A perspective of the time-dependent response of the AIDJEX model. In: Sea Ice Processes and Models, R.S. Pritchard, editor. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA, 1980.

Rothrock, D.A., R. Colony, and A.S.Thorndike, Testing pack ice constitutive laws with stress divergence measurements. Sea Ice Processes and Models, R.S. Pritchard, editor. Univ. of Washington Press, 1980.

Rothrock, D.A., and A.S. Thorndike, Geometric properties of the underside of sea ice. J. Geophys. Res., 85(C7), 3955-3963, 1980.

Rothrock, D.A., Modeling sea-ice features and processes. J. Glaciology, 24(90), 359-375, 1979.

Rothrock, D.A., Mechanical behavior of pack ice (invited review paper). Annual Rev. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 3, 317-342, 1975.

Rothrock, D.A., The energetics of the plastic deformation of pack ice by ridging. J. Geophys. Res., 80, 4514-4519, 1975.

Rothrock, D.A., The steady drift of an incompressible arctic ice cover. J. Geophys. Res., 80, 387-397, 1975.

Thorndike, A.S., D.A. Rothrock, G.A. Maykut, and R. Colony, The thickness distribution of sea ice. J. Geophys. Res., 80, 4501-4513, 1975.

Conference Papers and Reports (reverse chronological order)

Babko, O. and D.A. Rothrock, Modeling changes in ice thickness distribution seen in SCICEX '96, abstract, Arctic Ocean Science from Submarines-Report from the SCICEX 2000 Workshop, Applied Physics Laboratory, Univ. of Washington, Seattle WA, pp.A26-27, 1999.

Rothrock, D.A., J. Zhang, and Y. Yu, Comparing ice thickness distributions in models and submarine data, WCRP Workshop on Sea Ice Thickness Measurements and Data Analysis, Monterey, Calif., 7-11 April 1997.

Francis, J.A, A.J. Schweiger, and D.A. Rothrock, TOVS Path-P: A pathfinder data set of atmospheric and surface variables for process and climate studies of the Arctic Basin (abstract), Proc. AGU Spring Mtg., 30 May - 2 June 1995, Baltimore, Maryland, EOS, 76(17), 49 .

Martin, S., D. Thomas, M. Steele, and D. Rothrock, The ice and fresh water balance of the Arctic Ocean for 1979-1985, 4th Conf. on Polar Meteorol. and Oceanog., January 15-20, 1995, Dallas, Texas, American Meteorol. Soc., 201-203.

Schweiger, A.J., and D.A. Rothrock, Monitoring sea ice flux through Fram Strait, Proc.of the Second ERS-1 Symp., 11-14 October 1993, Hamburg, Germany, European Space Agency, Vol. 1, 277-280, 1993.

Stern, H.L., D.A. Rothrock, and R. Kwok, Sea ice lead dynamics from ERS-1 SAR, Proc. of the Second ERS-1 Symp., 11-14 October 1993, Hamburg, Germany, European Space Agency, Vol. 1, 269-270, 1993.

Stern, H.L., D.A. Rothrock, R. Kwok, and B. Holt, The geophysical processor system: Automated analysis of ERS-1 SAR imagery, Proc. of the Second ERS-1 Symp., 11-14 October 1993, Hamburg, Germany, European Space Agency, Vol. 1, 281-286, 1993.

Rothrock, D.A., and H.L. Stern, Sea ice deformation observed with ERS-1 SAR, Proc.of the First ERS-1 Symp., 4-6 November 1992, Cannes, France, European Space Agency, Vol. 1, 301-306, 1993.

Thorndike, A.S., C. Parkinson, and D.A. Rothrock, eds., Report of the Sea Ice Thickness Workshop, 19-21 November 1991, New Carrollton, MD, Applied Physics Laboratory, 1013 NE 40th St., Seattle, WA 98105-6698, 1992.

Dade, E.F., D.A. Rothrock, R. Colony, and C. Olmsted, Estimating repeat coverage of Arctic Sea ice motion with ERS-1 SAR. Tech. Rep. APL-UWX TR9114, Applied Physics Laboratory HN-10, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, p. 50, 1991.

Rothrock, D.A., and D.R. Thomas, An Arctic Ocean ice balance with assimilated satellite and buoy data, Proc. Symp. on Assimilation of Observations in Meteorology and Oceanography, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 9-13 July 1990, 461-466.

Rothrock, D.A., F. Carsey, J. Curlander, B. Holt, R. Kwok, and W. Weeks. Ice tracking techniques, implementations, performance, and applications (abstract), Proc. 28th Plenary Meeting of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), 25 June - 6 July 1990, The Hague, p. 90.

Rothrock, D.A., The Arctic Ocean ice balance: Melding of observation and theory (invited paper), AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting, Feb., 1990. Abst. in Eos, 71(2), p. 99, 1990.

Banfield, J., and D.A. Rothrock, Automated analysis of polar satellite imagery, Proc. Geosci. and Remote Sensing Symp., Vancouver, Canada, 10-14 July, 1989. Vol. 2, 1117-1120.

Winebrenner, D.P., D.A. Rothrock, and H. Stern, Comparison of sea ice type classification using polarimetric and non-polarimetric synthetic aperture radar, Proc. Geosci. and Remote Sensing Symp., Vancouver, Canada, 10-14 July, 1989.

Weeks, W.F., and D.A. Rothrock, On the track of the pack. Abstract in Eos, 69(44), p. 1043, 1988.

Rothrock, D.A., and D.R. Thomas, Sea ice modeling with SMMR and buoy data, and a Kalman Filter. Abstract in Eos, 69(44), p. 1252, 1988.

Fily, M. and D.A. Rothrock, Measuring lead area changes in sea ice imagery. Proc. Int'l Geoscience & Remote Sensing Symp., Edinburgh, Scotland, 12-16 Sept., 1988. Vol. 2, 799-800.

Rothrock, D.A. and D.R. Thomas, Estimating sea ice concentration from satellite passive microwave data and a physical model. Proc. Int'l Geoscience & Remote Sensing Symp., Edinburgh, Scotland, 12-16 Sept., 1988. Vol. 3, 1677-1684.

Fily, M. and D.A. Rothrock, A Fortran Program for Digital Ice Tracking by Cross-Correlation. Informal Document No. APL-UW 1-88, Applied Physics Laboratory, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98105, 1988.

Rothrock, D.A., Automated ice measurements from a decade of SAR imagery--How will we get them? How will we use them? Proc. MTS/IEEE Workshop on Instrumentation and Measurements in the Polar Regions, Monterey, Calif., 27-29 January, 1988, 35-44.

Rothrock, D.A., and D.R. Thomas, New applications of active and passive microwave observations of sea ice dynamics. Invited paper, European Geophysical Society XIII General Assembly, Bologna, 21-25 March 1988. Abstract in Special Issue, Annales Geophysicae, p. 132, Ganthier- Villars, 1988.

Fily, M. and D.A. Rothrock, Quantitative use of satellite SAR imagery of sea ice, Adv. Space Res., 7(11), 11,323-11,326, 1987.

Rothrock, D.A., and D.R. Thomas, Principal component analysis of Arctic Ocean SMMR data. Proc. Int'l Symp. on Microwave Signatures in Remote Sensing, Chalmers Univ. of Tech., Goeteborg, Sweden, 118-119, 1987.

Rothrock, D.A., Observing the polar oceans with spaceborne radar. Invited paper, Second Spaceborne Imaging Radar Symposium, Pasadena, Calif., April 28-30, 1986.

Hall, R.T., and D.A. Rothrock, Observations of ice floe breakup and side-wall melt. Abstract in EOS, 65(45), paper 012B-12, 1984.

Weller, G., F. Carsey, B. Holt, D.A. Rothrock, and W.F. Weeks, Science Program for an Imaging Radar Receiving Station in Alaska. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, 1983.

Rothrock, D.A., and A.S. Thorndike, Sea ice floe size distribution. Presented at the AGU Special Session on Fractals and Non-dimensional Scaling; San Francisco, CA, Abstract in EOS, 63(45), paper U52A-06, 1982.

Rothrock, D.A., Modeling sea ice features and processes. Presented at the Symposium on Dynamics of Large Ice Masses; Ottawa, Ont., August, 1978.

Coon, M.D., R. Colony, R.S. Pritchard, and D.A. Rothrock, Calculations to test a pack ice model. Numerical Methods in Geomechanics, Vol.2, 1210-27, C.S. Desai, editor, American Society of Civil Engineers, NY, 1976.

Hall, R.T., G.A. Maykut, and D.A. Rothrock, AIDJEX ice modeling: Its testing with LANDSAT and potential use in FGGE. Symposium on meteorological observations from space: Their contributions to the first GARP Global Experiment, Philadelphia, June 1976.

Rothrock, D.A., and R.T. Hall, Testing the redistribution of sea ice thickness from ERTS photographs. AIDJEX Bulletin 29, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, 1-19, 1975.

Rothrock, D.A., The steady drift of an incompressible ice cover in the Arctic Ocean. Climate of the Arctic, Weller, G., and S.A. Bowling, editors, University of Alaska, 387-390, 1975.

Evans, R.J., and D.A. Rothrock, Stress fields in pack ice. Proceedings Third International Symposium on Ice Problems, G.E. Frankenstein, ed., International Association Hydraulic Research, Comm. on Ice Problems. Hanover, NH, Aug. 1975.

Rothrock, D.A., A relation between the potential energy produced by ridging and the mechanical work required to deform pack ice. AIDJEX Bulletin 23, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, 45-51, 1974.

Rothrock, D.A., Redistribution functions and their yield surfaces in a plastic theory of pack ice deformation. AIDJEX Bulletin 23, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, 53-81, 1974.

Coon, M.D., G.A. Maykut, R.S. Pritchard, D.A. Rothrock and A.S. Thorndike, Modelling the pack ice as an elastic-plastic material. AIDJEX Bulletin 24, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, 1-105, 1974.

Rothrock, D.A., Circulation of an incompressible ice cover. AIDJEX Bulletin 18, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, 61-68, 1973.

Rothrock, D.A., Circulation of an incompressible ice cover. EOS, 11. Abstract of paper delivered to the American Geophysical Union at the Symposium on Sea-Air Interaction in the Polar Regions, Dec., 1972.

Rothrock, D.A., The kinematics and mechanical behaviour of pack ice: The state of the subject. AIDJEX Bulletin 2, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, 1-10, 1970.

Rothrock, D.A., The pressure term in the constitutive law of an ice pack. AIDJEX Bulletin 2, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, 28-32, 1970.