Selected European Studies On Sea Ice Classification And Drift Retrieval As Basis For Collaborative Projects During Dragon 4

• Main Authors: Dierking, Wolfgang, 22 coauthors, .
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Alfred Wegener Institute; Ice Shelves; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/41599/; https://www.conftool.pro/2016DragonSymp/index.php?page=browseSessions&form_session=20#paperID130; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.48478

The key element in the Dragon program is the utilization of remote sensing technologies for geo- and bio-scientific research. Considering the vast extent of the Polar Regions and the difficulties to access those, it is immediately clear that in particular the use of data from Earth Observing (EO) satellites is essential for monitoring ice sheets, ice shelves and sea ice. Recent studies on sea ice focus both on aspects regarding the interaction mechanisms between ocean, ice and atmosphere and their implications for weather and climate, and on information retrieval about ice mechanics and ice conditions for supporting marine traffic and offshore operations. During the Dragon-2 and 3 phases, researchers from the First Institute of Oceanography, Qingdao, China, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the Danish Meteorological Institute, and the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany have successfully established a close information exchange with respect to sea ice classification and ice parameter retrieval. Direct collaboration projects were focused on ice thickness retrieval using polarimetric SAR data from the Bohai Sea, and the possibility to estimate ice thickness in the Arctic based on compact satellite radar polarimetry. The PIs Ji, Zhang, and Dierking as well as the other members of the Dragon sea ice team have been involved in various external collaborative projects, which have been positively influencing their work in the Dragon program. The objective of this presentation is to give an overview about important European projects and studies that were carried out during the Dragon-3 phase and are of importance for future activities in the Dragon-4 program. Here, we focus on sea ice classification and drift retrieval using synthetic aperture radar (SAR). The separation of different ice types is needed for marine operations (mainly thin, smooth ice separated from thicker compacted ice) and for scientific process studies regarding, for example, heat exchange between ocean and atmosphere through the ice, or exchange ...