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An assessment of arctic sea ice concentration retrieval based on “HY-2” scanning radiometer data using field observations during CHINARE-2012 and other satellite instruments

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Abstract

A retrieval algorithm of arctic sea ice concentration (SIC) based on the brightness temperature data of “HY-2” scanning microwave radiometer has been constructed. The tie points of the brightness temperature were selected based on the statistical analysis of a polarization gradient ratio and a spectral gradient ratio over open water (OW), first-year ice (FYI), and multiyear ice (MYI) in arctic. The thresholds from two weather filters were used to reduce atmospheric effects over the open ocean. SIC retrievals from the “HY-2” radiometer data for idealized OW, FYI, and MYI agreed well with theoretical values. The 2012 annual SIC was calculated and compared with two reference operational products from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and the University of Bremen. The total ice-covered area yielded by the “HY-2” SIC was consistent with the results from the reference products. The assessment of SIC with the aerial photography from the fifth Chinese national arctic research expedition (CHINARE) and six synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images from the National Ice Service was carried out. The “HY-2” SIC product was 16% higher than the values derived from the aerial photography in the central arctic. The root-mean-square (RMS) values of SIC between “HY-2” and SAR were comparable with those between the reference products and SAR, varying from 8.57% to 12.34%. The “HY-2” SIC is a promising product that can be used for operational services.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Satellite Ocean Application Service, State Oceanic Administration, Beijing, 100081, China

    Lijiang Shi & Qimao Wang

  2. Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Peng Lu, Zhijun Li & Hongwei Han

  3. Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, FI-00101, Finland

    Bin Cheng & Juha Karvonen

Authors
  1. Lijiang Shi
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  2. Peng Lu
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  3. Bin Cheng
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  4. Juha Karvonen
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  5. Qimao Wang
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  6. Zhijun Li
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  7. Hongwei Han
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peng Lu.

Additional information

Foundation item: The International Science and Technology Cooperation Project of China under contract No. 2011DFA22260; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 41276191; the Public Science and Technology Research Funds Projects of Ocean by the State Oceanic Administration under contract No. 201205007-05; the Chinese Polar Environment Comprehensive Investigation & Assessment Program by the State Oceanic Administration under contract Nos 2013-02-04 and 2012-04-03-02.

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Shi, L., Lu, P., Cheng, B. et al. An assessment of arctic sea ice concentration retrieval based on “HY-2” scanning radiometer data using field observations during CHINARE-2012 and other satellite instruments. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 34, 42–50 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-015-0632-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-015-0632-9

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