Brief Communication: Mesoscale and submesoscale dynamics in the marginal ice zone from sequential synthetic aperture radar observations
New possibilities for horizontal current retrieval in marginal ice zones (MIZs) from sequential Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images are demonstrated. Daily overlapping SAR acquisitions within 70–85 ∘ S/N at time intervals < 1 h enable estimation of high-resolution velocity fields, re...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2020
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2941-2020 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/14/2941/2020/ |
Summary: | New possibilities for horizontal current retrieval in marginal ice zones (MIZs) from sequential Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images are demonstrated. Daily overlapping SAR acquisitions within 70–85 ∘ S/N at time intervals < 1 h enable estimation of high-resolution velocity fields, revealing MIZ dynamics down to submesoscales. An example taken from the Fram Strait MIZ reveals energetic eddies and filaments with Rossby numbers reaching O(1) magnitudes. The SAR-derived velocity estimations at such high spatial resolution can be critical for monitoring the evolving MIZ dynamics and model validation of submesoscale processes in polar oceans. |
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