| Summary: | PhD-project title: Interannual and decadal variability of sea ice concentration, drift, and thickness in the Weddell Sea. Due to its low thermal conductivity sea ice reduces heat exchange between ocean and atmosphere. This affects the atmospheric and oceanic circulations. Furthermore the high albedo of the ice has an influence on the energy balance of the atmosphere. While sea ice is formed, salt runs into the ocean and affects the density of the upper water layer. If the density is high enough the water sinks down. This process has an impact on the oceanic circulation. Because these processes are dependent from the age of the ice I will use scatterometer satellite data to estimate ice type and therefore ice age. Furthermore these data can be used for determination of drift velocities and ice extent. An additional goal of this thesis is the determination of interannual and decadal variability of sea ice properties like thickness and concentration as well as the connection between these parameters and the atmospheric forcing.
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