Vector field characterization in ERS-1 imagery of sea ice

The nonrigid motion of sea ice is an essential component when describing global climatology models. With the availability of sequential ERS-1 satellite imagery, we estimate high resolution motion and describe the differential characteristics of motion. This characterization is subsequently used to locate critical points, also known as coherent structures, in the flow, thereby reducing the large vector field into a collection of important feature points which essentially describe the flow pattern. In this paper, we build on previous work in an attempt to enhance the characterization of the flow field via visualization and quantification of these coherent structures. We show that the statistical quantification of these structures can provide a greater clarity in our understanding of the physical dynamics taking place within the sea ice