Utilisation of CryoSat-2 SAR altimeter in operational ice charting
We present methods to utilise CryoSat-2 (CS-2) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode data in operational ice charting. We compare CS-2 data qualitatively to SAR mosaics over the Barents and Kara seas. Furthermore, we compare the CS-2 to archived operational ice charts. We present distributions of four...
| Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-121-2016 https://doaj.org/article/7fc8950799854fbe8e5d514e68ec8101 |
| Summary: | We present methods to utilise CryoSat-2 (CS-2) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode data in operational ice charting. We compare CS-2 data qualitatively to SAR mosaics over the Barents and Kara seas. Furthermore, we compare the CS-2 to archived operational ice charts. We present distributions of four CS-2 waveform parameters for different ice types as presented in the ice charts. We go on to present an automatic classification method for CS-2 data which, after training with operational ice charts, is capable of determining open ocean from ice with a hit rate of > 90 %. The training data are dynamically updated every 5 days using the most recent 15 days of CS-2 data and operative ice charts. This helps the adaption of the classifier to the evolving ice/snow conditions throughout winter. The classifier is also capable of detecting three different ice classes (thin and thick first-year ice as well as old ice) with success rates good enough for the output to be usable to support operational ice charting. Finally, we present a near-real-time CS-2 product just plotting the waveform characteristics and conclude that even such a simple product is usable for some of the needs of ice charting. |
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