Distribution of Antarctic Sea Ice from Satellite Altimetry in the Weddell Sea Preliminary Results

Abstract

We investigated the distribution of sea ice using Topex/Poseidon (T/P) and ERS-1 radar altimeter data in the northwest Weddell Sea, Antarctica, between the area 45-75oW and 55-66oS. Using the Geo_Bad_1 flag of the Merged GDR of the T/P, we classified the surface into ocean, land, and sea. Total 257 cycles of altimeter measurements between Oct. 1992 and Sep. 1999 (for nearly 2570 days) were used to analyze the distribution of the Antarctic sea ice. We then calculated the surface area of ice coverage using SUTM20 map projection to monitor the periodic variations. Each year, the maximum and minimum coverage of the sea ice were found in late August and February in the study area, respectively. We also studied the sea ice distribution using ERS-1 altimeter data between 45-75oW and 55-81.5oS to compare with the T/P. Using the Valid/Invalid flag of the Ocean Product, we analyzed the sea ice distribution between March and August of 1995, which showed very good coherence with the T/P measurements. Our preliminary results showed that the altimeter measurements can be effectively used to monitor the distribution of the sea ice in the polar region. However, the size of radar footprint, typically 2-6 km depending on the roughness of the sea surface, may be too big to monitor the sharp boundary between ice and water/land. If more other altimeter mission data with dense coverage such as Geosat GM are analyzed together, this limitation can be significantly improved. If we also combine other microwave remote sensing data such as radiometer, and SSM/I, the result will be significantly enhanced.