Retrieval of sea ice thickness distribution in the seasonal ice zone from airborne L‐band SAR

Abstract

Although satellite data are known to be useful for obtaining ice thickness distribution for perennial sea ice or in stable thin sea ice areas, their use in the seasonal sea ice zone (SIZ) is still unresolved. In this study, we approached the problem of ice thickness retrieval by using L‐band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). In the SIZ, ice thickness growth is closely related to ridging activity and therefore we expected surface roughness to be correlated to ice thickness. L‐band SAR is suitable for detecting such surface roughness and should be a useful tool for obtaining ice thickness distribution. To verify this correlation, we conducted shipborne electromagnetic (EM) inductive sounding and supersonic profiling observations with an icebreaker, coordinated with airborne L‐band SAR observations in the southern Sea of Okhotsk in February 2005. The surface elevation was estimated by representing the ship's motion with a low‐pass filter. Backscattering coefficients correlated well with ice thickness and surface roughness, defined by the standard deviation of the surface elevation. This result sheds light on the possibility of determining ice thickness distribution in the SIZ.

Acknowledgements

We express our sincere thanks to all the crew and scientists onboard P/V SOYA for their kind cooperation during the cruise. The Pi‐SAR observation in the Sea of Okhotsk was carried out under the Pi‐SAR research programme by NICT and JAXA (PI: Prof. F. Nishio). Discussions with Dr C. Haas, Dr R. Massom, Prof. H. Wakabayashi and Dr S. Aoki, proof‐reading by Dr G. D. Williams, and comments by two anonymous reviewers were also helpful. This study was supported by the fund from Research Revolution 2002 (RR2002) of the Project for Sustainable Coexistence of Human, Nature and the Earth of the MEXT of the Japanese Government, and partly by a Grant‐in‐Aid for Scientific Research (C‐18510003).