The European Space Agency's CryoSat‐2 satellite mission provides radar altimeter data that are used to derive estimates of sea ice thickness and volume. These data are crucial to understanding recent variability and changes in Arctic sea ice. Sea ice thickness retrievals at the CryoSat‐2 frequency require accurate measurements of sea ice freeboard, assumed to be attainable when the main radar scattering horizon is at the snow/sea ice interface. Using an extensive snow thermophysical property dataset from late winter conditions in the Canadian Arctic, we examine the role of saline snow on first‐year sea ice (FYI), with respect to its effect on the location of the main radar scattering horizon, its ability to decrease radar penetration depth, and its impact on FYI thickness estimates. Based on the dielectric properties of saline snow commonly found on FYI, we quantify the vertical shift in the main scattering horizon. This is found to be approximately 0.07 m. We propose a thickness‐dependent snow salinity correction factor for FYI freeboard estimates. This significantly reduces CryoSat‐2 FYI retrieval error. Relative error reductions of ~11% are found for an ice thickness of 0.95 m and ~25% for 0.7 m. Our method also helps to close the uncertainty gap between SMOS and CryoSat‐2 thin ice thickness retrievals. Our results indicate that snow salinity should be considered for FYI freeboard estimates.

Year-round observations of the physical snow and ice properties and processes that govern the ice pack evolution and its interaction with the atmosphere and the ocean were conducted during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition of the research vessel Polarstern in the Arctic Ocean from October 2019 to September 2020. This work was embedded into the interdisciplinary design of the 5 MOSAiC teams, studying the atmosphere, the sea ice, the ocean, the ecosystem, and biogeochemical processes. The overall aim of the snow and sea ice observations during MOSAiC was to characterize the physical properties of the snow and ice cover comprehensively in the central Arctic over an entire annual cycle. This objective was achieved by detailed observations of physical properties and of energy and mass balance of snow and ice. By studying snow and sea ice dynamics over nested spatial scales from centimeters to tens of kilometers, the variability across scales can be considered. On-ice observations of in situ and remote sensing properties of the different surface types over all seasons will help to improve numerical process and climate models and to establish and validate novel satellite remote sensing methods; the linkages to accompanying airborne measurements, satellite observations, and results of numerical models are discussed. We found large spatial variabilities of snow metamorphism and thermal regimes impacting sea ice growth. We conclude that the highly variable snow cover needs to be considered in more detail (in observations, remote sensing, and models) to better understand snow-related feedback processes. The ice pack revealed rapid transformations and motions along the drift in all seasons. The number of coupled ice–ocean interface processes observed in detail are expected to guide upcoming research with respect to the changing Arctic sea ice.

Uncertainty in snow properties impacts the accuracy of Arctic sea ice thickness estimates from radar altimetry. On firstyear sea ice (FYI), spatiotemporal variations in snow properties

Spring melt pond fraction (f p) has been shown to influence September sea ice extent and, with a growing need to improve melt pond physics in climate and forecast models, observations at large spatial scales are needed. We present a novel technique for estimating f p on sea ice at high spatial resolution from the Sentinel-1 satellite during the winter period leading up to spring melt. A strong correlation (r = À0.85) is found between winter radar backscatter and f p from first-year and multiyear sea ice data collected in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) in 2015. Observations made in the CAA in 2016 are used to validate a f p retrieval algorithm, and a f p prediction for the CAA in 2017 is made. The method is effective using the horizontal transmit and receive polarization channel only and shows promise for providing seasonal, pan-Arctic, f p maps for improved understanding of melt pond distributions and forecast model skill. Plain Language Summary Recent and well-documented changes in Arctic sea ice have introduced the need for timely and accurate seasonal forecasts of ice conditions. Seasonal forecasts of ice conditions will reduce the risks to humans and help preserve the fragile Arctic ecosystem by preventing accidents and spills. Recent studies have shown a link between the amount of surface meltwater flooding that occurs on sea ice in the spring, termed melt pond fraction, and the extent of sea ice that remains at the end of summer. This link is due to the ability of surface meltwater to absorb more sunlight compared to bare ice and snow. This study provides a new way to estimate the amount of surface meltwater flooding expected to occur on the sea ice in spring, using satellite data collected during the winter period. The results presented here provide a key link between winter and late summer sea ice conditions that will enhance the ability of forecasters to make accurate seasonal predictions several months in advance of the active summer period.

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Abstract. Arctic rain on snow (ROS) deposits liquid water onto existing snowpacks. Upon refreezing, this can form icy crusts at the surface or within the snowpack. By altering radar backscatter and microwave emissivity, ROS over sea ice can influence the accuracy of sea ice variables retrieved from satellite radar altimetry, scatterometers, and passive microwave radiometers. During the Arctic Ocean MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) expedition, there was an unprecedented opportunity to observe a ROS event using in situ active and passive microwave instruments similar to those deployed on satellite platforms. During liquid water accumulation in the snowpack from rain and increased melt, there was a 4-fold decrease in radar energy returned at Ku- and Ka-bands. After the snowpack refroze and ice layers formed, this decrease was followed by a 6-fold increase in returned energy. Besides altering the radar backscatter, analysis of the returned waveforms shows the waveform shape changed in response to rain and refreezing. Microwave emissivity at 19 and 89 GHz increased with increasing liquid water content and decreased as the snowpack refroze, yet subsequent ice layers altered the polarization difference. Corresponding analysis of the CryoSat-2 waveform shape and backscatter as well as AMSR2 brightness temperatures further shows that the rain and refreeze were significant enough to impact satellite returns. Our analysis provides the first detailed in situ analysis of the impacts of ROS and subsequent refreezing on both active and passive microwave observations, providing important baseline knowledge for detecting ROS over sea ice and assessing their impacts on satellite-derived sea ice variables.

We evaluate the effects of rapidly changing Arctic sea ice conditions on sea salt aerosols (SSA) produced by oceanic wave‐breaking and the sublimation of wind‐lofted salty blowing snow on sea ice. We use the GEOS‐Chem chemical transport model to assess the influence of changing extent of the open ocean, multi‐year sea ice (MYI), first‐year sea ice (FYI), and snow depths on SSA emissions for 1980–2017. We combine snow depths from the Lagrangian snow‐evolution model (SnowModel‐LG) together with an empirically‐derived snow salinity function of snow depth to derive spatially and temporally varying snow surface salinity over Arctic FYI. We find that pan‐Arctic SSA surface mass concentrations have increased by 6%–12% decade−1 during the cold season (November–April) and by 7%–11% decade−1 during the warm season (May–October). The cold season trend is due to increasing blowing snow SSA originating from FYI: as MYI is replaced by FYI with thinning snow depths, snow surface salinity increases by more than 11% decade−1. During the warm season, rapid sea ice loss and thus increasing open ocean SSA are the cause of modeled SSA trends. Observations of SSA mass concentrations at Alert, Canada display positive trends during the cold season (10%–12% decade−1), consistent with our pan‐Arctic simulations. During fall, Alert observations show a negative trend (−18% decade−1), due to locally decreasing wind speeds and thus lower open ocean emissions. These significant changes in SSA concentrations could potentially affect past and future bromine explosions and Arctic climate feedbacks.