# Presentation: 861429

## Use of Passive and Active Microwave Satellite Dataat the National Ice Center 

**Use of Passive and Active Microwave Satellite Data****at the National Ice Center**** **

***Pablo Clemente-Colón***
***National Ice Center – NOAA***
***Washington, DC, USA***

**EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference**
**Dubrovnik, Croatia**** **
**19 - 23 September, 2005**** **

## Use of Passive and Active Microwave Satellite Dataat the National Ice Center 

-  The U.S. National Ice Center
-  Satellite and Ancillary Data Used
-  Passive Microwave Observations
-  Active Microwave Observations
-  Future Plans
-  International Collaborations

**Use of Passive and Active Microwave Satellite Data****at the National Ice Center**** **

## The U.S. National Ice Center 

**Center of excellence in global ice, meteorology and oceanographic services.**
_**MISSION **_
**To provide the highest quality strategic and tactical ice services tailored to meet the operational requirements of U.S. national interests. To provide specialized meteorological and oceanographic services to United States government agencies.**

**The National Ice Center (NIC) is a U.S. Government agency that brings together the Department of Defense - NAVY, Department of Commerce - NOAA, and the Department of Homeland Security - US Coast Guard (USCG).**

**The U.S. National Ice Center**** **

## Cryospheric Parameters

**Present cryospheric environmental parameters of interest at the NIC include:**

**Cryospheric Parameters**

**Sea & Lake Ice Concentration**
**Sea & Lake Ice** **Age**
**Sea & Lake Ice** **Motion**
**Sea & Lake High-Resolution Ice** **Edge Location**
**Ice of Land Origins (Icebergs)**

## NIC Operational Products

-  Every Two Weeks Arctic/Antarctic
-  Weekly National Interest
-  Northeast U.S. / Great Lakes / Chesapeake and 	Delaware System
-  North/South Hemisphere Daily Ice edge
-  North/South Hemisphere Daily MIZ
-  Seasonal Forecasts and Outlooks
-  DoD/Submarine Force/Arctic Sub Lab
-  Military Sealift Command (Pacer Goose / Deep Freeze)

- http://www.natice.noaa.gov/

## NIC Climatology Activities

-  Completed QC’ed 1995-2004 NIC Arctic Charts are being used to produce a new sea ice climatology by NSIDC
-  Data to be added to the EWG 1972-1994 dataset to produce a 30-year climatology
-  QC of NIC Antarctic analyses is almost completed
-  Graphical User Interactive tools are under development to access and exploit the climatology time series.

- http://www.natice.noaa.gov/

**Notes:**
Environmental Working Group (EWG)-Arctic Climatology Project, tasked withproducing an Arctic sea ice atlas, identified nineteen years (1972-1990) 

## Arctic Ice Extent Climatologies

**Arctic Ice Extent Climatologies**

- [F. Fetterer, NSIDC]

## Present Satellite Data Sources Used in Ice Charting

**ENVISAT**
**(Under Development)**

- Extensive infrastructure
- Great cooperation between DOD/NOAA
- International infrastructure
- Commercial imagery

## Information Extraction

**Ice Model Output**

**Previous Days Ice Chart**

**Climatology**

**SAR and Other RS Data**

**Ice Charts**

**Ice Bulletins**

**Environmental Data**

**Climate Archive**

**Information is integrated and products produced within a customized GIS environment**
**Information from EO data extracted mostly manually, visually by trained analysts.**

## Satellite and Ancillary Data Used at the NIC 

**DMSP OLS**

**Ice Recon**

**NIC Ice chart**

**40+ GB data per day**

**Foreign Ice Charts**

**DMSP SSM/I**

**Models. Buoys, and Weather Observations**

**MODIS**

**AVHRR**

**QuickSCAT**

**RADARSAT**

**Envisat GMM**

**MODIS**

**Satellite and Ancillary Data Used at the NIC**** **

**Notes:**
SIGRID-3: A Vector Archive Format for Sea Ice Charts 

## NIC Operational Charts

**NIC Operational Charts**

## Support regional, global scale ice mapping

Ice Edge, Concentration, and Motion information extracted manually or automatically

Relatively low resolution restricts its use to large scale mapping of the ice edge and total concentration

Seasonal limitations well-known – limits use during the most critical operational season

**Ice Edge, Concentration, and Motion information extracted manually or automatically**
**Relatively low resolution restricts its use to large scale mapping of the ice edge and total concentration**
** **
**Seasonal limitations well-known – limits use during the most critical operational season**

**Passive Microwave Observations**** **

## Passive Microwave Observations – SSM/I 85GHz

**Passive Microwave Observations – SSM/I 85GHz**

**Notes:**
SSM/I is a 7-channel, 4-frequency linearly polarized passive microwave radiometric system. Channels are 85.5, 37.0, 22.2, and 19.3 Gigahertz (GHz). Orbital data for each 24 hour period are mapped to respective grid cells using a simple 'drop in the bucket' sum and average method. 85.5 GHz data are gridded at a resolution of 12.5 km, with all other channels at a resolution of 25 km.

## SSM/I 85GHz Ice Motion Algorithm

**SSM/I 85GHz Ice Motion Algorithm**

**Notes:**
The 85GHz SSM/I ice motion algorithm was developed and runs internally at NIC (N9).  It uses an image cross-correlation technique to estimate the magnitude and direction of ice drift over a 24-hour period. 

Based on the data analysis performed here for March and April 2003, we conclude that:
The typical 24-hour ice drift measured by the algorithm is 17 km, but drift of 25-30 km is not unreasonable.  It is rare that the Arctic sea ice is motionless.
Error analysis indicates that drift magnitude errors of 6-15 km are likely, and, due to the skewed nature of the error distribution, errors in excess of 25 km can also be expected from time to time.
The actual mean 24-hour ice drift occurring in the Arctic during this study was probably closer to 11 km, as the algorithm’s tendency is to over-estimate the magnitude of drift by 6 km or more.
Algorithm-derived ice drift directions tend to be off by about 16 degrees, but errors in excess of 40 degrees are very rare. 

## SSM/I CAL/VAL Algorithm and PIPS 2.0

**SSM/I CAL/VAL Algorithm and PIPS 2.0**

**Notes:**
Polar Ice Prediction 
System  (PIPS  3.0),  which  will  be  based  on  a  global  ocean  model  and  a  sea  ice  model  (C-ICE) 
developed  at  Los  Alamos  National  Laboratory.    PIPS  3.0  will  use  data  assimilation  routines 
developed at the Naval Postgraduate School. Output products will include ice drift, concentration, 
stage of development and a prediction of convergence and divergence areas within the pack ice. 

The Cal/Val algorithm uses the 19V and 37V channels within the ice pack and the 37V and 37H channels near the ice edge if weather effects are not important. A series of automated tests, using thresholds of brightness temperature combinations is used to determine concentration. The Cal/Val is a modified version of the AES-York algorithm and was initially developed for the calibration and validation of SSM/I. 
The use of only the 37 GHz channels near the ice edge yields a higher resolution ice/water boundary because of the smaller footprint of the 37 GHz channels compared to the 19 GHz channels. The Cal/Val is also quite sensitive to thin ice; any underestimation of thin ice is much less than from the NASA Team algorithm. For these two reasons, the Cal/Val has historically been the primary algorithm used operationally at the National Ice Center. 
However, because the Cal/Val is particularly sensitive to thin ice, it almost always saturates quickly to 100% (and greater) ice concentrations. Thus, small variations in high concentration areas are not detectable. 

Since the late 1980s, ice forecasting systems developed by the Naval Research Laboratory, have been predicting conditions in the Arctic and several of its marginal seas at the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and oceanography Center (FNMOC). Beginning in 1987, the Polar Ice Prediction System (PIPS) has produced forecasts over the central Arctic basin, the Barents Sea and the Greenland Sea using a coarse grid resolution of 127 km. In June 1989, the first regional ice forecast system, the Regional Polar Ice Prediction System - Barents Sea (RPIPS-B) was implemented. RPIPS-B, a higher resolution version of PIPS, forecasts over the Barents Sea and the western part of the Kara Sea using a grid resolution of 25 km. The second regional forecast system was implemented in October 1991, the Regional Polar Ice Prediction System - Greenland (RPIPS-G). RPIPS-G forecasts over the region adjacent to the East Greenland coast using a grid resolution of 20 km. The forecast systems are driven by monthly mean ocean currents and deep ocean heat fluxes derived from the Hibler and Bryan (1987) coupled ice-ocean model. As of July 1996, a coupled ice-ocean model, the Polar Ice Prediction System (PIPS 2.0), was implemented operationally by FNMOC as a replacement for the three original forecast systems. PIPS 2.0 forecasts conditions in all sea ice covered areas in the northern hemisphere (down to 30°N in latitude). The horizontal grid resolution of the model is 0.28 degrees and uses 15 vertical levels. PIPS 2.0 produces forecast fields of ice displacement, ice thickness, ice concentration (ice edge) and the growth/decay of ice based on both dynamic and thermodynamic effects. PIPS 2.0 is driven by atmospheric forcing from the Navy Operational Global Atmospheric System (NOGAPS) (Hogan et al., 1991). 

## SSM/I NASA Team 2 Algorithm

**SSM/I NASA Team 2 Algorithm**

**Notes:**
The NASA Team 2 algorithm uses a similar methodology as the NASA Team algorithm and employs PR and GR ratios. However, the NASA Team 2 algorithm also employs the 85 GHz channels to resolve some of the surface ambiguities, particularly those resulting from snow cover. 
The 85 GHz channel can accurately retrieve surface information over sea ice (at a higher resolution (16 x 14 km footprint) than the other SSM/I channels) in clear conditions. A drawback of the use of the 85 GHz channel is that it is quite sensitive to atmospheric interference from clouds and water vapor. For this reason, use of 85 GHz channels for sea ice concentration has been limited. The NASA Team 2 approach employs a forward atmospheric radiative transfer model with 11 standard climatological atmospheres to find a best-fit correction to the SSM/I brightness temperatures. The two NASA Team weather filters are employed to eliminate spurious ice retrievals over open water. 
The NASA Team 2 obtains improved concentrations over the NASA Team and does not saturate to over 100% concentrations as the Cal/Val does. The NASA Team 2 is also more sensitive to thin ice than the NASA Team, although it appears to still underestimate thin ice concentrations in many areas. One drawback of the NASA Team 2 algorithm is that the 'best-fit' atmosphere used to correct the brightness temperatures can often vary from pixel to pixel. This results in noise in the concentration field and a 'speckled' appearance of the concentration image. 

## Value-Added Automated Product

- SSM/I derived ice edge and concentrations
- Ice edge is value added by analyst with higher resolution imagery for greater accuracy
- Available in both Shapefile and Overlay (SIGRID) formats

**Value-Added Automated Product**

**Notes:**
The Greenish color is pack ice.  The yellow is the marginal ice zone and the brownish color is open water. 

## ICEMON AMSR/E Sea Ice Product

## QuikSCAT now on the Operations’ floors as images

Guaranteed coverage

Used similarily to Passive Microwave – large scale ice edge mapping, some typing in winter

Detects concentration of about 10% -- close to SAR ice edge

- Guaranteed coverage
- Used similarily to Passive Microwave – large scale ice edge mapping, some typing in winter
- Detects concentration of about 10% -- close to SAR ice edge

**Active Microwave Observations - Scatterometer**** **

## QuikScat Hemiphere Ice Maps 

**QuikScat Hemiphere Ice Maps**** **

## Active Microwave Observations - SAR

-     23% of NIC operational Arctic ice products analyzed  using SAR (focus on high priority areas)
-     Primary data source when available

***SAR Imagery is Critical to Operational Ice Analysis***

*Operational customers demand detail and reliability of SAR for critical operations (e.g., vessels operating in or near ice)*

**Active Microwave Observations - SAR**

## RADARSAT-1 SAR Data at NIC

- Source: ESRI Poster

- ©CSA

**RADARSAT-1 SAR Data at NIC**

## RADARSAT-1 Basin-Scale to Tactical Coverage

**RADARSAT-1 Basin-Scale to Tactical Coverage**

- ©CSA

## Example of Tactical Support - Deep Freeze 2004-2005

**Example of Tactical Support - Deep Freeze 2004-2005**

## SAR Validates and Improves Automated

-  QuikSCAT edge (Blue)
-  SSM/I (Magenta)
-  Analyzed (Cyan)
-  Estimated (Red)

**SAR Validates and Improves Automated**
**Ice Edge Products**

## Microwave Multi-Sensor Partial Ice Mapping

-  Partnership with Vexcel, UK and JPL to combine AMSR-E, QuikSCAT and Envisat GMM data to classify into these three ice classes (multiyear, firstyear, ambiguous) in regions where the multi-year ice component is unrealistically being created during the winter months
-  In the Arctic Basin, the ambiguous ice added to the multiyear ice provides a robust upper limit on the extent of multiyear ice. It is also sensitive to the presence of multiyear ice exiting the Fram Strait.

- Maximum
- Multi-year
- Ice concentration

## Envisat GMM Mosaics

- NIC is now receiving daily Global Monitoring Mode (GMM) mosaics of the Arctic and Antarctic
- When available, these data are preferred over QuikSCAT data for basin-scale mapping of the sea ice edge.
- GMM data collection runs in the background with data collected only when other Envisat ASAR modes are not being tasked----this creates GAPS in the mosaics.

**GMM**
**Antarctic Mosaic**

***/ ****PolarView*

## Future Directions 

## Multi-Sensor Polynea Detection

**Multi-Sensor Polynea Detection**

- [S. Martin, UW]

## SAR and Passive Microwave Polynea Mapping

- Comparison of AMSR heat fluxes with ScanSAR and
- with SSM/I; obviously AMSR yields better definition.

**SAR and Passive Microwave Polynea Mapping**

- [S. Martin, UW]

## AMSR/E 89 GHz Motion Monitoring

- 02/29

**AMSR/E 89 GHz Motion Monitoring**

- [W. Meier, NSIDC]

## 02/29

## 03/01

## NPOESS Preparatory Remote Sensing Activities

**WINDSAT:**
**Evaluate the development of new polarimetric passive microwave sea ice algorithms**
**2 years of available dataset**
**Create WindSat, AMSR/E,and SSM/I matchup data in preparation for NPOESS era (CMIS)**
**Extablishing WindSat/CMIS Sea Ice Algorithm Working Group **
**CMIS (2010):**
**Replacement for SSM/I**
**Better resolution,**
**More polarizations**

- MODIS Ice Detection

- [G. Lin, NRL]

**Notes:**
WindSat, the first space borne polarimetric microwave radiometer, was developed by the Naval Research Laboratory under sponsorship of the U.S. Navy and NPOESS. 

## U.S. SAR-Related Cryospheric Data Requirements

**U.S. SAR-Related Cryospheric Data Requirements**

## SAR Data Outlook

-  RADARSAT-1: US-Canada agreement extension being negotiated
-  ENVISAT ASAR: Negotiating for operational access
-  ALOS PALSAR:  L-band POL, ASF North America Node (2005)*
-  RADARSAT-2: No NIC/NAIS Agreement in place yet (2006)
-  MDA RADARSAT Tandem Mission???
-  DLR TerraSAR-X: German X-band
-  TerraSAR-X Tandem Mission???
-  ASI COSMO-SkyMed Constellation: X-band
-  CONAE SAOCOM Constellation: L-band
-  RADARSAT Follow-on Constellation
-  NASA Interferometric SAR Mission???
-  NASA CLPP SAR Mission???
-  IPO SAR NPOESS Mission???
-   ***C band/L band comparison study in preparation by JPL for use of ALOS data.**

**Notes:**
*Data assimilation and modeling is important in assessing the quality of the products and exploring there potential for improving our estimated long-term trends in sea ice

## ASAR Dual-Pol Ice Type Discrimination

**R:  HH **
**G:  HH **
**B:  HV**

**September 25, 2003 ASAR APM IS6**

**ASAR Dual-Pol Ice Type Discrimination**

## CryoSat and Sea Ice Thickness Validation

**October 2005 launch**
**NIC supports validation with ASL sonar, ice mass balance buoys, and airborne altimetry**

## Snow and Ice Product Move to NIC 

- http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SNOW/

** ****Plans are being develop to transfer responsibilities for the Snow and Ice Mapping System  (IMS) from NESDIS/OSDPD Satellite Service Division to NIC**
** ****Interactive analyses are based on ****GOES****, AVHRR, and Passive Microwave**

**Notes:**
In 1997, the interactive multisensor snow and ice mapping system (IMS) replaced the snow maps that NESDIS has produced since 1966, he longest satellite-derived environmental dataset available. The IMS provides daily Northern Hemisphere snow and ice maps for use in specifying boundary conditions in NCEP’s numerical weather forecast.

## National Ice Center Relocation at the

-  $62 million,  208,000 sq ft facility to house NOAA,
-      including NIC
-  Groundbreaking held 11 April 2003
-  Expected occupancy date ~15 Sep 2005
-  Expected NIC relocation ~ 02 Dec 2005
-  16 antennae control over $5 billion in satellites

**National Ice Center Relocation** **at the**
**NOAA Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF)**

## NIC International Activities 

## North American Ice Service(NAIS)

**U.S. National Ice Center (NIC), Canadian Ice Service (CIS) and International Ice Patrol (IIP)**
**19 Years of Cooperation**
**Geographic Centers of Expertise**
**Efficiencies Gained Through Imagery Exchange, Mutual Back-up, Training, Outlooks, and Shared Analysis Responsibilities**
**Collaboration In Science, Modeling, Algorithm Development**
**Collaboration in IT Development **

## North American Ice Service(NAIS)

**North American Ice Service****(NAIS)**

## Joint Proposals with CIS under NAIS

**Preliminary proposals to the Canadian Government on satellite data fusion for sea ice characterization and seasonal ice forecast have been submitted.**
**Joint proposal with ASF to create a real-time ****RADARSAT-1 Geophysical Processing System****(RGPS) is being developed to demonstrate d****erivinggeophysical parameters such as sea ice motion, ice deformation, and estimates of ice thickness from sequential RADARSAT-1 SAR imagery of the Arctic Ocean on a near real time basis. **

## IICWG and ETSI Participation

**International Ice Charting Working Group (ICCWG):**
**	****	****-**** International Ice charting color code standards**
**	****	**** ****-**** SIGRID 3 spatial data ice chart archive standard**
**	****	**** ****-**** International collaboration in Polar science**
**	****	**** ****-**** Invitation to “Southern Hemisphere” Ice Centers for 2005 Meeting, October 24-28, Ottawa, canada. **
**NIC is also represented at the WMO/IOC JCOMM Expert Team on Sea Ice (ETSI)**

**Notes:**
Ice Information Services:Socio-Economic Benefits and Earth Observation Requirements
Prepared for:The Group on Earth Observation (GEO) and Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES)
September 2004

## International Polar Year (IPY) Plans 

**EXPRESSION OF INTENT**
**FOR ACTIVITIES IN IPY 2007-2008**

- The Study of Short-Term Arctic Sea Ice Predictability: Sea ice forecast research in support of International Ice Chart Working Group (IICWG) requirements

**NOAA Earth Observation Partnership of the Americas**
**(EOPA)**

- Validation of L-band SAR observations over Antarctic sea ice.

**International Polar Year (IPY) Plans**** **

**Notes:**
Tom Carrieres, Canadian Ice Service
Lars-Ander Breivik, Norwegian Meteorological Service
Rasmus Tonboe, Danish Meteorological Institute
Igor Ashik & Vasily Smolyanitsky, Russian, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
Pentti Malkki, Finish Ice Service
Lars Axell, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute
John Stark, United Kingdom Met Office

## 2005 ENVISAT Ross Sea Demonstration Project

**Improve mapping of the sea ice conditions in the Ross Sea area of Antarctica for research and operations by acquiring more regular ASAR coverage.**
**RADARSAT Geophysical Processing System (RGPS) Ice thickness and ice motion products derived from this project would improve support of ships traveling in and out of McMurdo.**

## KSAT Envisat ASAR Acquisition Demonstrationin Support of the Healy and Oden Arctic Crossing

**Date****	****	****Time****	**
**20050918****	****16:11:29****	**
**20050920****	****16:49:09****	**
**20050921****	****16:17:28****	**
**20050922****	****17:26:09**

## SAR Marine USER’S MANUAL

**Hardcopy Published in 2004 **
**Includes Chapters on:**
**SAR Background**
**Atmospheric Boundary Layer Phenomena**
**Sea Ice Observations (4 chapters)**
**Oceanic Phenomena**

- Synthetic Aperture Radar
- Marine User’s Manual

- http://www.internalwaveatlas.com/Manual_index.html

## Use of Passive and Active Microwave Satellite Dataat the National Ice Center 

**Use of Passive and Active Microwave Satellite Data****at the National Ice Center**** **

***Pablo Clemente-Colón***
***National Ice Center – NOAA***
***Washington, DC, USA***

**EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference**
**Dubrovnik, Croatia**** **
**19 - 23 September, 2005**** **