SUB-DAILY FLAW POLYNYA DYNAMICS IN THE KARA SEA INFERRED FROM SPACEBORNE MICROWAVE RADIOMETRY

• Main Author: Stefan Kern
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Kara Sea
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.534.528; http://www.ifm.zmaw.de/fileadmin/files/research/remote_sensing/space_and_airborn/iahr04_kern.pdf

Flaw polynyas develop frequently at the fast-ice border along the Russian coast. The dynamics of such flaw polynyas occurring in the Kara Sea has been investigated with the Polynya Signature Simulation Method (PSSM) by Markus and Burns (1995) for a 10-day period of the winter 2002/2003 using brightness temperatures acquired by the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I). Results obtained with SSM/I data of two Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft, i.e., f13 and f15, have been used in order to resolve the sub-daily polynya dynamics. Polynya area, size and shape as inferred with the PSSM from f13 data agree with those obtained using f15 data and with NOAA AVHRR infrared imagery. The observed polynya dynamics is in line with changes in prevailing air flow during the period.