Assessment of Potential SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave/Imager) Ice Products in Light of ESMR (Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer) and SMMR (Scanning Microwave Spectrometer) Ice Classification Algorithms

摘要

The Special Sensors Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) will be launched aboard a DMSP satellite in FY-85. Spatial resolution of the high frequency 85.5 GHz channel is substantially better than the highest resolution obtained from ESMR and SMMR sensors (approximately 30 km), Data received from this channel will improve the accuracy with which ice edges and bodies of open water within the pack can be located. The cell size for which total ice concentration can be estimated also will be reduced. However, estimates of multi-year ice concentration, of thin ice types, and the character of ice in the marginal ice zone will not be improved over SMMR estimates by virtue of these higher frequency data. Enhanced estimates of these parameters must come from development of improved ice classification algorithms. Improved ground truth information from which satellite data can be interpreted and verified is critical if classification algorithms are to be improved. Specifically, data that document radiometric signatures of wet and snow-covered ice surfaces that occur during summer and autumn months are needed to improve estimates of multi-year concentrations during melt and freeze-up. Brightness temperature data that describe the transition from open water to thick first-year ice are required for improved discrimination of thin ice types. Ground truth data that correlate marginal ice zone conditions with low-resolution imagery from satellite-borne microwave sensors are needed to improve estimates of conditions with the marginal ice zone.