Bohai Sea Ice Parameter Estimation Based on Thermodynamic Ice Model and Earth Observation Data

Abstract

We estimate two essential sea ice parameters—namely, sea ice concentration (SIC) and sea ice thickness (SIT)—for the Bohai Sea using a combination of a thermodynamic sea ice model and Earth observation (EO) data from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and microwave radiometer. We compare the SIC and SIT estimation results with in-situ measurements conducted in the study area and estimates based on independent EO data from near-infrared/optical instruments. These comparisons suggest that the SAR-based discrimination between sea ice and open-water works well, and areas of thinner and thicker ice can be distinguished. A larger comprehensive training dataset is needed to set up an operational algorithm for the estimation of SIC and SIT.

Keywords

• synthetic aperture radar
• passive microwave remote sensing
• ice concentration
• ice thickness
• thermodynamic ice model