Sea ice thickness is an essential variable to understand and forecast the dynamic ice cover and can be estimated by satellite altimetry. Nevertheless, it is affected by uncertainties especially from snow depth, a key parameter to derive it from ice freeboard. We developed a snow depth product based on the differences between CryoSat-2 SAR Ku and IceSat-2 laser altimeters which have different snow penetration capabilities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArctic sea ice is diminishing with climate warming at a rate unmatched for at least 1,000 years. As the receding ice pack raises commercial interest in the Arctic, it has become more variable and mobile, which increases safety risks to maritime users. Satellite observations of sea-ice thickness are currently unavailable during the crucial melt period from May to September, when they would be most valuable for applications such as seasonal forecasting, owing to major challenges in the processing of altimetry data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSea ice continues to decline across many regions of the Arctic, with remaining ice becoming increasingly younger and more dynamic. These changes alter the habitats of microbial life that live within the sea ice, which support healthy functioning of the marine ecosystem and provision of resources for human-consumption, in addition to influencing biogeochemical cycles (e.g.
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