A scatterometer record of sea ice extents and backscatter: 1992–2016
<p>This paper presents the first long-term climate data record of sea ice extents and backscatter derived from intercalibrated satellite scatterometer missions (ERS, QuikSCAT and ASCAT) extending from 1992 to the present date (Verhoef et al., 2018). This record provides a valuable independ...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2018-09-01
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| Series: | The Cryosphere |
| Online Access: | https://www.the-cryosphere.net/12/2941/2018/tc-12-2941-2018.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>This paper
presents the first long-term climate data record of sea ice extents and
backscatter derived from intercalibrated satellite scatterometer missions
(ERS, QuikSCAT and ASCAT) extending from 1992 to the present date (Verhoef et
al., 2018). This record provides a valuable independent account of the
evolution of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extents, one that is in excellent
agreement with the passive microwave records during the fall and winter
months but shows higher sensitivity to lower concentration and melting sea
ice during the spring and summer months. The scatterometer record also
provides a depiction of sea ice backscatter at C- and Ku-bands, allowing the
separation of seasonal and perennial sea ice in the Arctic and further
differentiation between second-year (SY) and older multiyear (MY) ice
classes, revealing the emergence of SY ice as the dominant perennial ice type
after the historical sea ice loss in 2007 and bearing new evidence on the
loss of multiyear ice in the Arctic over the last 25 years. The relative good
agreement between the backscatter-based sea ice (FY, SY and older MY) classes
and the ice thickness record from Cryosat suggests its applicability as a
reliable proxy in the historical reconstruction of sea ice thickness in the
Arctic.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |