Abstract
Abstract. As an important factor in the stability of the climate system in the northern hemisphere, the Arctic has recently attracted considerable attention. In the Arctic, most sea ice is covered by snow year-round, except in the snow-melting season. Given its high albedo and low thermal conductivity, snow cover on sea ice is considered a key component of amplified warming in the Arctic. However, in Arctic regions, the only products available are for snow depths on first-year ice. Therefore, this paper studies the temporal and spatial changes of snow depth on first-year ice in the Arctic using the snow depth on sea ice product determined from the Microwave Radiation Imager onboard the Feng Yun-3B satellite. We averaged the daily snow depth on first-year ice data to give monthly and annual values over the period 2011–2018, using flags for multiyear ice and melting points. Taking the 2012 data as an example, the analysis results show that the spatial distribution of snow depth in the monthly and annual data is similar over the whole first-year ice area. The snow depth basically decreases with latitude, and the distribution features exhibit little variation by month and year. The weekly mean snow depth on first-year ice begins to increase from October/November due to snowfall, and reaches a maximum value in late April/early May of the next year. There is no obvious law governing the inter-annual variation of snow depth in the Arctic from 2011–2018.
Highlights
Accounting for 5–8% of the global ocean surface area, sea ice is an important component and indicator of the global climate system because it has a relatively high albedo, which means it reflects most short-wavelength radiation
As one of the coldest areas on earth, the Arctic is an important factor in the stability of the climate system in the northern hemisphere
Most of the sea ice in the Arctic is covered by snow year-round, except during the snow-melting season
Summary
Accounting for 5–8% of the global ocean surface area, sea ice is an important component and indicator of the global climate system because it has a relatively high albedo, which means it reflects most short-wavelength radiation. There are several operational products that include data for the snow depth on first-year ice in the Arctic. (https://neptune.gsfc.nasa.gov/csb/index.php?section=53); The FengYun-3B/Microwave Radiation Imager (FY3B/MWRI) snow depth on first-year ice product in the Arctic, released by the Ocean University of China (Li et al, 2019a). We study the temporal and spatial variations of snow depth on first-year ice in the Arctic using the snow depth on sea ice product from FY3B/MWRI. The snow depth product from the Ocean University of China was used to analyze spatiotemporal changes in snow depth in the Arctic. This product uses brightness temperature (TB) data from FY3B/MWRI to retrieve the snow depth on sea ice in the Arctic. The dataset used in this study covers the period 2011–2018
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
