ERS-1 investigations of Southern Ocean sea ice geophysics using combined Scatterometer and SAR images

Coregistered ERS-I SAR and Scatterometer data are presented for the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Calibrated image backscatter statistics are extracted from data acquired in regions where surface measurements were made during two extensive international Weddell Sea experiments in 1992. Changes in summer ice-surface conditions, due to temperature and wind, are shown to have a large impact on observed microwave backscatter values. Winter calibrated backscatter distributions are also investigated as a way of describing ice thickness conditions in different locations during winter. Coregistered SAR and EScat data over a manned drifting ice station as used to illustrate the seasonal signature changes occurring during the fall freeze-up transition. Combinations of Weddell Sea SAR and Scatterometer data are shown to be an extremely powerful tool for monitoring both sea-ice dynamics and the thermodynamic changes which accompany seasonal transitions in the Southern Ocean