Analysis of coastal ice cover using ERS-I SAR data

Abstract

Abstract An applications demonstration of the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data in an operational selling is being conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) CoastWatch Program. In the development phase of this demonstration, case studies were conducted to assess the utility of SAR data for monitoring coastal ice in the Bering Sea, icebergs from calving glaciers in Prince William Sound, and lake ice in the Great Lakes. ERS-l SAR data was used in these studies. Results showed that depending on size and sea state icebergs could be detected from background and computer enhanced in the imagery, thaI SAR data can supplement and enhance the utility of satellite visible and infrared data sources for coastal ice monitoring, and that Greal Lakes ice cover can be classified by ice type and mapped in the SAR data using image processing techniques. Cloud cover was a common problem. Based on the further development of automated analysis algorithms and the increase in frequency of ...