Large-scale comparison between buoy and SSM/I drift and deformation in the eurasian basin during winter 1992-1993

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
• Main Authors: Geiger, Cathleen A., Zhao, Y. H., Liu, A. K., Hakkinen, S.
• Other Authors: Geiger, Cathleen A., Zhao, Y. H., Liu, A. K., Hakkinen, S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; unknown
• Published: American Geophysical Union 2000
• Subjects: Sea ice
• Online Access: http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/16740; https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JC900285

Final published version A method for comparing sea ice velocity, divergence, and shear at the large-scale between buoys and Special Sensor Micro wave Imager (SSM/I) is presented. For initial testing, the method is applied in the Eurasian Basin because of its relatively simple circulation dominated by the wind. Using eight Argos buoys, 11 strain rate arrays 100-600 km in size are constructed. Daily 100 km resolution sea ice motion derived from SSM/I 85 GHz brightness temperatures is sampled 100-1000 km from the center of the buoy arrays. Over this range of possible scales, a minimum RMS difference (RMSD) for deformation is used to identify an optimal inclusion radius of 600 km corresponding to a length scale of 1000 km. This length scale is typical of local storms confirming a strong connection between wind and observed sea ice motion. On the basis of all II arrays, an average RMSD of 2.48 +/- 0.05 cm s(-1) for velocity vector and 8.8 +/- 0.9 x 10(-8) s(-1) using all four deformation components (partial derivative u(i)/partial derivative x(j)) is found at the optimal inclusion radius corresponding to average correlation coefficients of 0.896 +/- 0.002 and 0.729 +/- 0.030, respectively. RMSD are found to scale with the temporal and spatial uncertainties of the SSM/I suggesting that even better results can be achieved with higher resolution instruments. University of Delaware. Department of Geography.