On the development of a prototype system for the real-time, all weather classification of Arctic Sea ice

The Arctic region is of significance to meteorological, military, mineral exploration, and transportation application. The development of an all weather system possessing the capability to classify Arctic ice in real-time is of potential benefit to these diverse interests. Analysis of airborne 2.25 cm radar measurements from the Beaufort Sea have established the feasibility of the all weather radar measurement and classification of Arctic sea ice. These investigations have demonstrated the grouping of these radar measurements according to ice age. An electronic radar signal processor/ice classification system has been developed using signal conditioning and linear discriminant classification techniques to provide real-time identification of sea ice by type. The processing of actual and simulated radar data by this prototype system has shown the applicability of the system design criteria in the real-time classification of Arctic sea ice.