Satellite microwave radar- and buoy-tracked ice motion in the Weddell Sea during WWGS '92

Abstract

The first results of ERS-1 SAR sea-ice drift tracking are presented for Antarctica. Summer and winter examples illustrate temporal variations in ice drift in the Western and Eastern Weddell Sea during two field experiments. Time-series of mean drift velocity, divergence and rotation are compared with meteorological data from an ice camp and by instrumented buoys. Results indicate that SAR successfully characterizes the 'spatially mesoscale' kinematics of Weddell Sea ice during summer and winter, providing that coverage, and temporal and spatial sampling are judiciously planned. Measurements show that winter ice production largely takes place during synoptic events where pulses of wind force ice divergence, lead formation and ice growth.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>