Linking winter and spring thermodynamic sea-ice states at critical scales using an object-based image analysis of Sentinel-1

Changing Arctic sea-ice extent and melt season duration, and increasing economic interest in the Arctic have prompted the need for enhanced marine ecosystem studies and improvements to dynamical and forecast models. Sea-ice melt pond fraction fp has been shown to be correlated with the September min...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Annals of glaciology 2018-07, Vol.59 (76pt2), p.148-162
Main Authors:	Scharien, RK, Segal, R, Yackel, JJ, Howell, SEL, Nasonova, S
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Albedo Arctic sea ice Backscatter Backscattering C band Climate change Duration Earth science Ecosystem studies Environmental changes Evolution Glaciers Ice Ice melting Image analysis Image detection Image processing Imagery Infrared imagery Marine ecosystems Mathematical models melt–surface Missions Open access Polar environments Ponds Radar Radar imaging remote sensing SAR (radar) Satellites Sea ice Sea ice types Spatial variations Spring Summer Synthetic aperture radar Topography Topography (geology) Uptake Winter
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Summary:	Changing Arctic sea-ice extent and melt season duration, and increasing economic interest in the Arctic have prompted the need for enhanced marine ecosystem studies and improvements to dynamical and forecast models. Sea-ice melt pond fraction fp has been shown to be correlated with the September minimum ice extent due to its impact on ice albedo and heat uptake. Ice forecasts should benefit from knowledge of fp as melt ponds form several months in advance of ice retreat. This study goes further back by examining the potential to predict fp during winter using backscatter data from the commonly available Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar. An object-based image analysis links the winter and spring thermodynamic states of first-year and multiyear sea-ice types. Strong correlations between winter backscatter and spring fp, detected from high-resolution visible to near infrared imagery, are observed, and models for the retrieval of fp from Sentinel-1 data are provided (r2 ≥ 0.72). The models utilize HH polarization channel backscatter that is routinely acquired over the Arctic from the two-satellite Sentinel-1 constellation mission, as well as other past, current and future SAR missions operating in the same C-band frequency. Predicted fp is generally representative of major ice types first-year ice and multiyear ice during the stage in seasonal melt pond evolution where fp is closely related to spatial variations in ice topography.
ISSN:	0260-3055 1727-5644