Mapping the thickness of sea ice in the Arctic as an example of using data from a ship-based television complex for operational hydrometeorological support of maritime activities

• Published in: AIP Advances
• Main Authors: E. V. Afanasyeva, S. S. Serovetnikov, T. A. Alekseeva, E. A. Grishin, A. A. Solodovnik, N. A. Filippov, Е. В. Афанасьева, С. С. Сероветников, Т. А. Алексеева, Е. А. Гришин, А. А. Солодовник, Н. А. Филиппов
• Other Authors: The analysis of satellite data was carried out within the framework of the topic “Monitoring”, state registration no. 122042500031-8, Работа выполнена в рамках НИТР НИУ Росгидромета на 2021– 2024 гг. по теме 5.1.2. Развитие существующих и разработка новых методов и технологий долгосрочного (месячного и сезонного) прогнозирования элементов ледово-гидрологического режима арктических морей, низовьев и устьевых областей рек в условиях климатических изменений. Анализ спутниковых данных выполнялся в рамках темы «Мониторинг» гос. регистрация № 122042500031-8
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian
• Published: Государственный научный центр Российской Федерации Арктический и антарктический научно-исследовательский институт 2022
• Subjects: толщина льда; ground measurements; ice thickness; Northern Sea Route; remote sensing; sea ice chart; sea ice navigation; ship-based television complex; дистанционное зондирование; ледовая карта; ледовая навигация; натурные измерения; Северный морской путь; судовой телевизионный комплекс; Antarctic; Arctic; Annals of Glaciology; Antarc*; Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute; Sea ice; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://www.aaresearch.science/jour/article/view/440; https://doi.org/10.30758/0555-2648-2022-68-2-96-117

Sea ice charts produced by the ice services of the world are among the most widely used sources of information about sea ice conditions in the Arctic. The absolute majority of sea ice charts are based on visual expert analysis of satellite imagery accompanied by auxiliary data including ground information from coastal stations and ships navigating the Northern Sea Route (NSR). Ground measurements of sea ice thickness are necessary for validating the results of satellite imagery interpretation. Shipboard observations are highly valuable because, unlike coastal stations, the ships provide information about sea ice cover straight on the navigational routes, not in the coastal areas of land-fast ice, where the thickness values are not fully representative of the ice in the open sea. However, the current system of shipboard observations used by commercial fleets often does not meet the reliability requirements due to the human factor involved in the process of data collection. In the early 2000s, the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) suggested a new methodology for shipboard ice thickness measurement. A ship-based television complex (STC) was developed in order to exclude the human factor and standardize observations. The inaccuracy value was estimated as 3.8 % of the real thickness. By 2018, STC had been upgraded to a new ship-based television meteorological complex (STMC) allowing continuous automatic measurement of ice thickness and many other related hydrometeorological parameters during the entire voyage. The automatic and autonomous operation of the new equipment allows placing it on board the ship without the need for an ice specialist to be permanently present. It means that STMC can be used by commercial fleets, which constantly increase the number of Arc7 ice class vessels they use. For economic reasons, reinforced ice class vessels, whose number is growing, represent the only available infrastructure suitable for the deployment of distributed network providing operational hydrometeorological ...