Monitoring the Spatiotemporal Evolution of Sea Ice in the Bohai Sea in the 2009–2010 Winter Combining MODIS and Meteorological Data

Abstract

The spatiotemporal evolution of sea ice of Bohai Sea in the 2009–2010 winter was studied by time-series remote sensing data, and real-time meteorological data in combination with cumulative freezing degree days (CFDD). Sea ice acreage was determined using a ratio-threshold segmentation together with visual interpretation of daily MODIS 250 m imagery. We found the sea ice acreage soared to 31,849 km2 on January 23, covering 40.8% of the Bohai Sea. But on February 12, it reached 26,700 km2 in Liaodong Bay only, covering almost 90.0% of Liaodong Bay. The rapid formation and expansion of sea ice was caused by continuous cold snaps superimposed on a background of anomalously cold weather. CFDD calculated from surrounding cities highly correlated with sea ice acreage in Liaodong Bay (R 2 = 0.72) suggesting CFDD is one of the significant controlling factors. Sea ice expansion showed 7 days lag with respect to the lowest temperature from surrounding coastal cities, and it mainly occurred close to land, along the coastline, and gradually expanded from the shore outwards.