Abstract
The time variation of the sea-ice concentration and multiyear ice fraction within the pack ice in the Arctic Basin is examined, using microwave images of sea ice recently acquired by the Nimbus-5 spacecraft and the NASA CV-990 airborne laboratory. The images used for these studies were constructed from data acquired from the Electrically Scanned Microwave Radiometer (ESMR) which records radiation from earth and its atmosphere at a wavelength of 1.55 cm. Data are analyzed for four seasons during 1973–1975 to illustrate some basic differences in the properties of the sea ice during those times. Spacecraft data are compared with corresponding NASA CV-990 airborne laboratory data obtained over wide areas in the Arctic Basin during the Main Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment (1975) to illustrate the applicability of passive-microwave remote sensing for monitoring the time dependence of sea-ice concentration (divergence). These observations indicate significant variations in the sea-ice concentration in the spring, late fall and early winter. In addition, deep in the interior of the Arctic polar sea-ice pack, heretofore unobserved large areas, several hundred kilometers in extent, of sea-ice concentrations as low as 50% are indicated.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker, J. G.: 1960, in D. H. Menzel (ed.),Fundamental Formulas of Physics 2, 366, Dover Publications, New York.
Campbell, W. J., Gloersen, P., Nordberg, W., and Wilheit, T. T.: 1974, ‘Dynamics and Morphology of Beaufort Sea Ice Determined from Satellites, Aircraft, and Drifting Stations’, in P. Bock (ed.),Cospar Approaches to Earth Survey Problems through Use of Space Techniques, Akademie-Verlag-Berlin, pp. 311–327.
Campbell, W. J., Weeks, W. F., Ramseier, R. O., and Gloersen, P.: 1975, ‘Geophysical Studies of Floating Ice by Remote Sensing’,J. Glaciology 15, 305–328.
Campbell, W. J., Gloersen, P., Webster, W. J., Wilheit, T. T., and Ramseier, R. O.: 1976, ‘Beaufort Sea Ice Zones as Delineated by Microwave Imagery’,J. Geophys. Res. 81, 1103–1110.
Campbell, W. J., Wayenberg, J., Ramseyer, J. B., Ramseyer, R. O., Vant, M. R., Weaver, R., Redmond, A., Arsenault, L., Gloersen, P., Zwally, H. J., Wilheit, T. T., Chang, T. C., Hall, D., Gray, L., Meeks, D. C., Bryan, M. L., Barath, F. T., Elachi, C., Leberl, F., and Farr, T.; 1978, Microwave Remote Sensing of Sea Ice in the AIDJEX Main Experiment, this volume, pp. 309–337.
Chang, T. C. and Gloersen, P.: 1975, ‘Microwave Emission from Dry and Wet Snow’, in A. Rango (ed.),Operational Applications of Satellite Snowcover Observations. NASA SP-361. Washington D.C., pp. 399–407.
Chang, A. T. C., Gloersen, P., Schmugge, T., Wilheit, T. T., and Zwally, H. J.: 1976, ‘Microwave Emission from Snow and Glacier Ice’,J. Glaciology 16, 23–39.
Edgerton, A. T., Stogryn, A., and Poe, G.: 1971, ‘Microwave Radiometric Investigations of Snow Pack’, Final Report No. 1285R-4 for U.S.G.S. contract no. 1A-08-001-11828, Aerojet-General Corp., Microwave Division, El Monte, California.
Gaut, N. E. and Reifenstein, E. C., III: 1970, ‘Interaction of Microwave Energy with the Atmosphere’, Am. Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics Paper No. 70-197.
Gloersen, P., Nordberg, W., Schmugge, T. J., Wilheit, T. T., and Campbell, W. J.: 1973, ‘Microwave Signatures of First-Year and Multiyear Sea Ice’,J. Geophys. Res. 78, 3564–3572.
Gloersen, P., Wilheit, T. T., Chang, T. C., Nordberg, W., and Campbell, W. J.: 1974a, ‘Microwave Maps of the Polar Ice of the Earth’,Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 55, 1442–1448.
Gloersen, P., Chang, T. C., Wilheit, T. T., and Campbell, W. J.: 1974b, ‘Polar Sea Ice Observations by means of Microwave Radiometry’, in H. S. Santeford (ed.),Proc. of the Symp. on Advanced Concepts and Techniques on the Study of Snow and Ice Resources, pp. 541–550.
Gloersen, P. and Salomonson, V. V.: 1975, ‘Satellites — New Global Observing Techniques for Ice and Snow’,J. Glaciology 15, 373–389.
Gloersen, P., Ramseier, R., Campbell, W. J., Chang, T. C., and Wilheit, T. T.: 1975a, ‘Variation of Ice Morphology of Selected Mesoscale Test Areas During the Bering Sea Experiment’,Proc. of the Symp. of the Joint U.S./U.S.S.R. Bering Sea Experiment, Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, pp. 196–218.
Gloersen, P., Ramseier, R., Campbell, W. J., Kuhn, P. M., and Webster, Jr., W. J.: 1975b, ‘Ice Thickness Distribution as Inferred from Infrared and Microwave Remote Sensing During the Bering Sea Experiment’,Proc. of the Symp. of the Joint U.S./U.S.S.R. Bering Sea Experiment, Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, pp. 282–293.
Meyers, W.: 1976, AIDJEX Project, private communication.
Ramseier, R. O., Gloersen, P., and Campbell, W. J.: 1974, ‘Variation of the Microwave Emissivity of Sea Ice in the Beaufort and Bering Seas’, in E. Schanda (ed.),Proc. of the URSI Commission II-Specialists Meeting on Microwave Scattering and Emission from the Earth, Berne, Switzerland, pp. 87–93.
Ramseier, R. O., Gloersen, P., Campbell, W. J., and Chang, T. C.: 1975, ‘Mesoscale Description for the Principal Bering Sea Ice Experiment’,Proc. of the Symp. of the Joint U.S./U.S.S.R. Bering Sea Experiment, Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, pp. 234–270.
Wilheit, T., Nordberg, W., Blinn, J., Campbell, W., and Edgerton, A.: 1972, ‘Aircraft Measurement of Microwave Emissions from Arctic Sea Ice’,Remote Sensing of Environment 2, 129–139.
Wilheit, T. T.: 1972, ‘The Electrically Scanned Microwave Radiometer (ESMR) Experiment’,Nimbus-5 User's Guide, NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, pp. 59–105.
Wittman, W. J. and Schule, Jr. J. S.: 1966, ‘Comments on the Mass Budget or Arctic Pack Ice’, in J. O. Flescher (ed.),Proc. of the Symp. on the Arctic Heat Budget and Atmospheric Circulation, in J. O. Flescher (ed.), Rand Memo RM-5233-NSF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gloersen, P., Zwally, H.J., Chang, A.T.C. et al. Time-dependence of sea-ice concentration and multiyear ice fraction in the Arctic Basin. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 13, 339–359 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00913881
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00913881