Comparison of Passive Microwave-Derived Early Melt Onset Records on Arctic Sea Ice

Bliss, Angela C.; Miller, Jeffrey A.; Meier, Walter N.

doi:10.3390/rs9030199

Cited by 34 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Markus et al (2009). The timing of AHRA MO dates and the EMO and CMO dates are significantly different due to differences in passive microwave channel sensitivity and algorithm differences as described by Bliss et al (2017). Similar to EMO and CMO dates, the EFO corresponds to the first date that freeze-up occurs and the CFO indicates the date on which freezing conditions persist until the following melt season begins.…”

Section: Melt Season Dates and Periodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional variability of Arctic sea ice seasonal change climate indicators from a passive microwave climate data record

Bliss

Steele

Peng

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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The seasonal evolution of Arctic sea ice can be described by the timing of key dates of sea ice concentration (SIC) change during its annual retreat and advance cycle. Here, we use SICs from a satellite passive microwave climate data record to identify the sea ice dates of opening (DOO), retreat (DOR), advance (DOA), and closing (DOC) and the periods of time between these events. Regional variability in these key dates, periods, and sea ice melt onset and freeze-up dates for 12 Arctic regions during the melt seasons of 1979-2016 is investigated. We find statistically significant positive trends in the length of the melt season (outer ice-free period) for most of the eastern Arctic, the Bering Sea, and Hudson and Baffin Bays with trends as large as 11.9 d decade −1 observed in the Kara Sea. Trends in the DOR and DOA contribute to statistically significant increases in the length of the open water period for all regions within the Arctic Ocean ranging from 3.9 to 13.8 d decade −1 . The length of the ice retreat period (DOR−DOO) ranges from 17.1 d in the Sea of Okhotsk to 41 d in the Greenland Sea. The length of the ice advance period (DOC−DOA) is generally much shorter and ranges from 17.9 to 25.3 d in the Sea of Okhotsk and Greenland Sea, respectively. Additionally, we derive the extent of the seasonal ice zone (SIZ) and find statistically significant negative trends (SIZ is shrinking) in the Sea of Okhotsk, Baffin Bay, Greenland Sea, and Barents Sea regions, which are geographically open to the oceans and influenced by reduced winter sea ice extent. Within regions of the Arctic Ocean, statistically significant positive trends indicate that the extent of the SIZ is expanding as Arctic summer sea ice declines.

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Section: Melt Season Dates and Periodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional variability of Arctic sea ice seasonal change climate indicators from a passive microwave climate data record

Bliss

Steele

Peng

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…The latter part of the algorithm is called the 20-day window test. As a result of the 20-day window test, the AHRA can determine melt up to 9 days before melt characteristics are detectable with the HR parameter [21]. The AHRA has been applied to daily averaged brightness temperature data from SMMR and SSM/I to derive a long term record of MO dates for the arctic from 1979-2012 [22].…”

Section: Advanced Horizontal Range Algorithm (Ahra)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Passive Microwave Melt Onset Retrieval Based on a Variable Threshold: Assessment in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

2019

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The Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) presents unique challenges to the determination of melt onset (MO) using remote sensing data. High spatial resolution data is required to discern melt onset among the islands and narrow waterways of the region. Current passive microwave retrievals use daily averaged 19 GHz and 37 GHz data from the multi-channel microwave radiometer (SMMR) and/or the special sensor microwave/imager (SSM/I). The development of a new passive microwave melt onset method capable of using higher resolution data is desirable. The new passive microwave melt onset method described here, named the Dynamic Threshold Variability Method (DTVM), uses higher resolution data from the 37 GHz vertically-polarized channel from the advanced microwave scanning radiometers (AMSR-E and AMSR-2). The DTVM MO detection methodology differs from previously presented passive microwave Arctic MO methods in that it does not use a fixed threshold of a brightness temperature parameter. Instead, the DTVM determines MO dates based on the distribution of dates corresponding to the exceedance of a range of brightness temperature variability thresholds. The method also uses swath data instead of daily averaged brightness temperatures, which is found to lead to improved melt detection. Two current passive microwave MO methods are compared and evaluated for applicability in the CAA alongside the DTVM. The DTVM provides MO dates at a higher spatial resolution than earlier methods in addition to higher correlation with MO dates from surface air temperature (SAT) reanalyses. It is found that, for some years, MO dates in the CAA exhibit a latitudinal dependence, while in other years the MO dates in the CAA are relatively uniform across the domain.

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“…There are several uncertainties present in annual AHRA MO dates such as reduced confidence in the marginal ice regions where retreat of the sea ice due to melting can occur rapidly (Bliss et al, 2017), the potential influence of short-term weather effects that were not filtered out via the AHRA time series test (Drobot & Anderson, 2001), and the dynamic opening of leads and polynyas (Maksimovich & Vihma, 2012). Reductions in SIC due to divergent sea ice motion and the corresponding increase in open water may be erroneously identified as melting since liquid water on the sea ice surface and ice-free ocean cannot be easily distinguished from each other in PMW data (Comiso et al, 1997).…”

Section: Pmw-based Mo Datesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arctic Sea Ice Melt Onset Timing From Passive Microwave‐Based and Surface Air Temperature‐Based Methods

Bliss

Anderson

2018

JGR Atmospheres

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Melt onset (MO) on Arctic sea ice has been monitored using satellite‐based passive microwave (PMW) observations since 1979. In this work, surface air temperatures from the International Arctic Buoy Programme/Polar Exchange at the Sea Surface and NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder are used to derive MO date estimates using three threshold methods which are then compared with a record of PMW‐based MO dates. Results from the PMW data indicate a shift toward increasingly early MO timing, with significant trends as large as −9.45 days/decade in the E. Siberian Sea and −5.69 days/decade for the entire Arctic, consistent with other studies highlighting the overall decline of Arctic sea ice. Results indicate that the surface air temperature‐based MO date estimates produced using a −1 °C threshold are ~11 days later than the PMW‐based MO date estimates Arctic wide. A statistical comparison of the Polar Exchange at the Sea Surface and PMW‐based MO dates indicate that despite the ~11‐day bias, correlations between the MO date time series are generally good (≥0.6) for most of the Arctic Ocean while the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder and PMW‐based MO dates are generally better at capturing the statistically similar long‐term trends in MO dates for the Arctic and several Arctic subregions. Application of these results can contribute to the development of new methods to monitor the sea ice melting state.

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Comparison of Passive Microwave-Derived Early Melt Onset Records on Arctic Sea Ice

Cited by 34 publications

References 45 publications

Regional variability of Arctic sea ice seasonal change climate indicators from a passive microwave climate data record

Regional variability of Arctic sea ice seasonal change climate indicators from a passive microwave climate data record

Passive Microwave Melt Onset Retrieval Based on a Variable Threshold: Assessment in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Arctic Sea Ice Melt Onset Timing From Passive Microwave‐Based and Surface Air Temperature‐Based Methods

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