Evaluation of Summertime Passive Microwave and Reanalysis Sea‐Ice Concentration in the Central Arctic
Abstract Passive microwave (PM) observations have been used to monitor ice retreat in the Arctic. However, various PM sea ice concentration (SIC) algorithms are prone to underestimate ice fraction during summer. We evaluated the accuracy of 2002–2019 low SICs in the Central Arctic Ocean of four PM p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Earth and Space Science |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EA003214 |
| _version_ | 1797321215192334336 |
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| author | Kexin Song Peter J. Minnett |
| author_facet | Kexin Song Peter J. Minnett |
| author_sort | Kexin Song |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Passive microwave (PM) observations have been used to monitor ice retreat in the Arctic. However, various PM sea ice concentration (SIC) algorithms are prone to underestimate ice fraction during summer. We evaluated the accuracy of 2002–2019 low SICs in the Central Arctic Ocean of four PM products from the University of Bremen, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), and the Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF), and two reanalysis data sets from the fifth generation of European ReAnalysis (ERA5) and the Modern‐Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA‐2). Three reference fields were used: (a) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) true‐color composites, (b) MODIS sea ice extent, and (c) multi‐product ensemble (MPE‐SIC) comprising the median of collocated SIC estimates. Our results indicate SICs derived from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer ‐ Earth Observing System (AMSR‐E) and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) high frequency channels have the best accuracy. Reanalysis SICs indicate almost identical patterns as their remote sensing inputs. The assessment shows that the Bremen (+1.06%) and NSIDC (+0.99%) SICs are higher than the median field, while the OSI‐401 (−6.65%) and OSI‐408 (−4.64%) have negative mean deviations. The mean error of MODIS‐derived SIC (−0.80%) is smaller than PM SICs. These small mean values belie wide distributions of values. The correlation coefficients of pairs of time series of Low sea‐Ice Concentration Index range from 0.37 to 0.96. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:54:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-404fde00ef7344769234a690937ef239 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2333-5084 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:54:22Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earth and Space Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-404fde00ef7344769234a690937ef2392024-02-07T15:20:41ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)Earth and Space Science2333-50842024-01-01111n/an/a10.1029/2023EA003214Evaluation of Summertime Passive Microwave and Reanalysis Sea‐Ice Concentration in the Central ArcticKexin Song0Peter J. Minnett1Meteorology and Physical Oceanography Graduate Program Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science University of Miami Miami FL USADepartment of Ocean Sciences Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science University of Miami Miami FL USAAbstract Passive microwave (PM) observations have been used to monitor ice retreat in the Arctic. However, various PM sea ice concentration (SIC) algorithms are prone to underestimate ice fraction during summer. We evaluated the accuracy of 2002–2019 low SICs in the Central Arctic Ocean of four PM products from the University of Bremen, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), and the Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF), and two reanalysis data sets from the fifth generation of European ReAnalysis (ERA5) and the Modern‐Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA‐2). Three reference fields were used: (a) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) true‐color composites, (b) MODIS sea ice extent, and (c) multi‐product ensemble (MPE‐SIC) comprising the median of collocated SIC estimates. Our results indicate SICs derived from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer ‐ Earth Observing System (AMSR‐E) and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) high frequency channels have the best accuracy. Reanalysis SICs indicate almost identical patterns as their remote sensing inputs. The assessment shows that the Bremen (+1.06%) and NSIDC (+0.99%) SICs are higher than the median field, while the OSI‐401 (−6.65%) and OSI‐408 (−4.64%) have negative mean deviations. The mean error of MODIS‐derived SIC (−0.80%) is smaller than PM SICs. These small mean values belie wide distributions of values. The correlation coefficients of pairs of time series of Low sea‐Ice Concentration Index range from 0.37 to 0.96.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EA003214Arctic sea icepassive microwavereanalysisMODIS |
| spellingShingle | Kexin Song Peter J. Minnett Evaluation of Summertime Passive Microwave and Reanalysis Sea‐Ice Concentration in the Central Arctic Earth and Space Science Arctic sea ice passive microwave reanalysis MODIS |
| title | Evaluation of Summertime Passive Microwave and Reanalysis Sea‐Ice Concentration in the Central Arctic |
| title_full | Evaluation of Summertime Passive Microwave and Reanalysis Sea‐Ice Concentration in the Central Arctic |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Summertime Passive Microwave and Reanalysis Sea‐Ice Concentration in the Central Arctic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Summertime Passive Microwave and Reanalysis Sea‐Ice Concentration in the Central Arctic |
| title_short | Evaluation of Summertime Passive Microwave and Reanalysis Sea‐Ice Concentration in the Central Arctic |
| title_sort | evaluation of summertime passive microwave and reanalysis sea ice concentration in the central arctic |
| topic | Arctic sea ice passive microwave reanalysis MODIS |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EA003214 |
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