3D SAR Speckle Offset Tracking Potential for Monitoring Landfast Ice Growth and Displacement

• Published in: Remote Sensing
• Main Authors: Byung-Hun Choe, Sergey Samsonov, Jungkyo Jung
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021
• Subjects: SAR speckle offset tracking; 3D time-series analysis; landfast ice growth; Mackenzie Delta; Sentinel-1; Science; Q; Northwest Territories; Canada
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13112168; https://doaj.org/article/25859ea9f3844cfa84cded9ed3e83703

This study investigates the growth and displacement of landfast ice along the shoreline of the Mackenzie Delta in Northwest Territories, Canada, by synthetic aperture radar (SAR) speckle offset tracking (SPO). Three-dimensional (3D) offsets were reconstructed from Sentinel-1 ascending and descending SAR images acquired on the same dates during the November 2017–April 2018 and October 2018–May 2019 annual cycles. The analysis revealed both horizontal and vertical offsets. The annual horizontal offsets of up to ~8 m are interpreted as landfast ice displacements caused by wind and ocean currents. The annual vertical offsets of approximately −1 to −2 m were observed from landfast ice, which are likely due to longer radar penetration up to the ice–water interface with increasing landfast ice thickness. Numerical ice thickness model estimates supported the conclusion that the cumulative vertical negative offsets correspond to the growth of freshwater ice. Time-series analysis showed that the significant growth and displacement of landfast ice in the Mackenzie Delta occurred between November and January during the 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 cycles.