PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF SEA ICE FREEBOARD MEASUREMENTS OF BEAUFORT SEA FROM CRYOSAT-2 ALTIMETRY

Abstract

Satellite altimetry has been used to observe the Arctic sea ice in long term and large scale, and the records show a continued decline for Arctic sea ice thickness over decades. In this study, the sea ice freeboard in Beaufort Sea of Arctic have been estimated using CryoSat-2 data, and validated with Upward Looking Sonar (ULS) data of Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project (BGEP). The results show an obvious seasonal variation of the Beaufort Sea with a high reliability estimation of the sea ice freeboard. The average height of the sea ice freeboard increase from January to March and achieve the maximum value 0.38 m in March. The sea ice melts after March and the average height of the sea ice freeboard reduces to the minimum 0.12 m in August. In the next few months the sea water begins to freeze and the average height of the sea ice freeboard will increase to the maximum value.