Ice Information Services in the Era of Multiple SAR Satellites and Advanced Numerical Models

Abstract

Marine ice represents one of the greatest hazards to offshore development and transportation. While some operations may not tolerate the presence of any ice; others may only be affected by the most significant ice features such as multiyear, heavily deformed sea ice or ice islands. With multiple Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical satellites, including RADARSAT-1 and RADARSAT-2, Envisat, Terra SAR X, NOAA NPP, etc., it is possible to have at least daily coverage of virtually all areas of the Arctic. Ice information services have not only increased the accuracy of their products, but they have also expanded the products available to include very detailed image analyses and tracking of specific ice hazards. At the same time, significant efforts in the fields of data assimilation and modeling have started producing numerical sea ice analysis and forecast guidance products as part of routine operations. Techniques are currently under development in the field of ensemble modeling. These developments will introduce probabilistic forecast products that will provide both improved ice information and measures of forecast confidence. These directions will enable the offshore development and transportation industries to expand their risk management techniques to include ice and environmental information services. This presentation will provide a review of the systems under development