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The Antarctic Circumpolar Frontal Ice Zone

Authors:
Son Nghiem
Gregory Neumann
Dieuthuy Nguyen
Alberto Moreira
Irena Hajnsek

Keywords: Antarctic sea ice; frontal ice zone; remote sensing; satellite scatterometer; Operation IceBridge; TanDEM-X SAR.

Abstract:
Antarctic and Arctic sea ice characteristics are starkly contrasted. Antarctic sea ice is encapsulated by a frontal ice zone (FIZ), which is a circumpolar band of sea ice consisting of older and thicker ice adjacent to the ice edge, while Arctic sea ice contains younger and thinner ice in the marginal ice zone along the ice edge. Here we examine the distribution and properties of the FIZ using NASA remote sensing data from a satellite scatterometer and from Operation IceBridge. Results show that the FIZ is a persistent feature, where sea ice is continually built up by a supply of younger sea ice effectively produced and transported from the internal ice pack. During the ice growth season, the FIZ becomes rougher, due to ice deformation and ridging, and thereby thicker. Also sustained by westerly winds and currents, the FIZ supports the maintenance of the ice cover. Future coordinated campaigns with surface and aircraft observations, together with high-resolution multi-dimensional measurements by the TanDEM-X satellite polarimetric and interferometric radar, are crucial to characterize, understand, and predict Antarctic sea ice change.

Pages: 16 to 21

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2017

Publication date: May 21, 2017

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-4154

ISBN: 978-1-61208-561-6

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Dates: from May 21, 2017 to May 25, 2017