Observing pack ice properties with a helicopter-borne video-laser-GPS sensor

摘要

Various processing and display techniques were developed to display pack ice properties from data collected with a helicopter-borne Video-Laser-GPS Sensor System. The Video Sensor System collects digital video images, laser and radar altimeter profiles with GPS positioning. This report describes the sensors and the analysis performed on data collected in March 1998 and 1999 with the Video System in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. The ice features that can be determined from the video system are ice concentration, surface ice roughness, and ridge, floe and lead size distributions. Real-time display programs now provide quick-look and geo-referenced video plots, and plots of laser ice roughness, GPS flight track positions and flying heights. Further software development is needed to make ridge, floe and lead size distributions, and ice concentration available in real-time for operational use. Further field and analysis work is required to investigate the coherence seen between surface roughness, ridge frequencies and variations in image brightness.