SAR ice charting demonstration and validation. Ice Routes (Deliverable 8.)

The overall objective of the Ice Routes project is to demonstrate the feasibility of using satellite data in ice charting and routing for safer and more efficient ship transport in ice-covered waters. The specific objectives of the SAR ice charting demonstration and validation activities are:
1. To acquire for the first time a large amount of RADARSAT ScanSAR data (more than 30 scenes) for analysis and interpretation of ice conditions in the NSR
2. To demonstrate Artificial Intelligence technologies in generating high-resolution ice classification charts for ship routing using RADARSAT ScanSAR data
3. To evaluate the benefits of using ScanSAR data in support of ice navigation

The study has showed that ice charts from RADARSAT images can be useful both for the Marine Operations Headquarters and onboard icebreakers, but the automatically derived ice charts need to be corrected and improved by an ice expert before they can be used in navigation. Estimates for usage of space-derived high-resolution images (up to 100 m) predict a 150-200% increase of the operating speed during normal ice conditions. The commercial prices of RADARSAT SAR data are currently far too high for implementation of these data in the Russian ice services. Only commercial users such as oil and shipping companies are expected to use SAR data in the NSR in the near future. Unless there is considerable new funding available, it is not realistic that RADARSAT or other high-cost SAR data can be used on regular basis in the Northern Sea Route.