A study of sea ice in the Sea of Okhotsk with SAR data

Abstract The ‘Okhotsk Sea Ice Observation Experiment’ 93' was carried out in February 1993 in the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk and in Lake Saroma, Japan. The aim of the experiment was to investigate how effectively Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can monitor sea ice in this region. Satell...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Record
Main Authors: Wakabayashi, Hiroyuki, Hirano, Kazuyoshi, Nishio, Fumihiko, Aota, Masaaki, Takahashi, Shuhei
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1995
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400013851
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400013851
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Summary:Abstract The ‘Okhotsk Sea Ice Observation Experiment’ 93' was carried out in February 1993 in the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk and in Lake Saroma, Japan. The aim of the experiment was to investigate how effectively Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can monitor sea ice in this region. Satellite data from JERS-1/SAR (J-SAR), ERS-1/SAR CESAR), and SPOT-2/HRV, as well as data from airborne sensors and ground-truth data, were utilized. From the overall analysis of those data, several results were obtained. First, the range of backscatter of the ice cover on Lake Saroma was determined, as well as a relation between ice type and backscatter. Second, a method for making SAR mosaic images was developed to monitor sea ice over a wide area. When comparing J-SAR(L-band) data with E-SAR(C-band) data acquired simultaneously over the same area, J-SAR proved to be superior to E-SAR in showing the existence of sea ice. And third, it was confirmed that the backscatter of E-SAR was correlated to the ice thickness, which may be explained by the relation between the backscatter and the ice-surface temperature.