HR: 0800h
AN: C11B-0420    [Abstracts]
TI: Seasonal and Interannual Sea-Ice Freeboard and Thickness Variations in the Weddell Sea from ICESat (2003-2007)
AU: * Yi, D
EM: donghui@icesat2.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: SGT Inc., NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 614.1, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Zwally, H J
EM: zwally@icesat2.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 614.1, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AB: Sea-ice freeboard heights for twelve ICESat campaign periods from March 2003 to April 2007 in the Weddell Sea are derived from ICESat laser altimeter measurements. Freeboard is combined with snow depth on the sea ice from AMSR-E passive microwave data and nominal densities of snow, water, and sea-ice, to estimate sea-ice thickness. Sea-ice freeboard and thickness distributions show clear seasonal variations which reflect the yearly cycle of the growth and decay of the Weddell Sea pack ice. During the Antarctic winter (Oct-Nov), sea ice grows to its seasonal maximum both in area and thickness, filling in the Weddell Sea. For the four winter periods, the mean freeboards are between 0.33 and 0.41 meters and the mean thicknesses are between 2.1 and 2.2 meters. During the Antarctic summer (Feb-Mar), thinner sea ice melts away, sea ice is mainly distributed in the west Weddell Sea near the Antarctic Peninsula. For the five summer periods, the mean freeboards are 0.34 to 0.45 meters and the mean thicknesses are 1.6 to 2.1 meters. During the Antarctic fall (May-Jun), large areas of new, thinner sea ice forms over the Weddell Sea. For the three fall periods, the mean freeboards and thicknesses vary from 0.26 to 0.28 and 1.3 to 1.5 meters, respectively. The interannual differences in freeboard and thickness in three different seasons, the area and volume for each period are also described. This study demonstrated the ability of satellite laser altimetry to monitor sea-ice mass balance, an important indicator of climate change.
DE: 0750 Sea ice (4540)
DE: 0758 Remote sensing
DE: 0762 Mass balance (1218, 1223)
DE: 1605 Abrupt/rapid climate change (4901, 8408)
DE: 1635 Oceans (1616, 3305, 4215, 4513)
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting