Detection of the Labrador current using ice‐floe movement in synthetic aperture radar imagery and ice beacon trajectories

Abstract

Two sets of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images were collected, as part of the Labrador Ice Margin Experiment (LIMEX), over the Newfoundland Shelf on consecutive days in April 1990. Ice movement is detected from the displacement of ice floes between the two images sets and compared with ice drift data from six satellite‐tracked beacons and in situ CTD data. The ice velocity data derived from the SAR images and the beacons are used to generate a map of ice velocity vectors. A streamfunction map of ocean currents is produced by removing the direct wind‐driven component in the ice movement data, and by using an objective analysis method. The resulting flow pattern contains the offshore branch of the Labrador Current with a speed of 30 to 50 cm s^?1. The current closely follows the shelf break topography from north to south through the study area (47–50.5°N) as a continuous flow. In comparison, if the wind effect was not removed from the ice velocity data, the calculated Labrador Current north of 50°N would stray from the shelf break. The position of the current axis and the current speed derived from the ice movement data are in good agreement with the geostrophic current computed from the CTD data.     

Application of a coupled ice‐ocean model to the Labrador Sea

Abstract

The steady, coupled ice‐ocean circulation model of Willmott and Mysak (1989) for a meridional channel is applied to the Labrador Sea for the winter season. The model consists of a thermodynamic reduced‐gravity ocean combined with a variable thickness ice cover that is in thermal equilibrium. Upon specifying the forcing fields of surface air temperature, wind stress and water temperature along the open southern boundary, the winter climatological ice‐edge position, ice thickness, ocean circulation and temperature fields are determined in the channel domain. The sensitivity of the results to the various model parameters is examined. In particular, the optimum heat exchange coefficients for the interfaces of air‐water, ice‐water and air‐ice are found.

The model ice‐edge position compares favourably with the 50% winter climatological ice concentration isoline obtained from an analysis of 32 years (1953–84) of sea‐ice concentration data. The simulations of the ocean temperature and ice thickness are also quite realistic according to the observed records available. The model is also applied to two specific winters (1981 and 1983) during which anomalous sea‐ice and weather conditions prevailed in the Labrador Sea.     

Fusion of dual‐frequency SAR imagery of sea ice

Abstract

A new method is presented for the classification of sea ice using multi‐parametric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery. The local textural information, which is in essence a weighted gradient at a point, is computed in two SAR images of similar polarization but differing radar wavelength. The local information from the two images is combined at every pixel using a suggested rule for the addition of an entropy‐like measure. The resulting summation is shown to have the same negative exponential probability distribution found for the information from each separate image, confirming that the combined measure has the properties of information also. It is shown that the resulting joint information categories support a segmentation very similar to one based on consideration of the full complex scattering matrix for three wavelengths.     

Interannual variability of sea‐ice cover in Hudson bay,Baffin bay and the Labrador sea

Abstract

The spatial and temporal relationships between subarctic Canadian sea‐ice cover and atmospheric forcing are investigated by analysing sea‐ice concentration, sea‐level pressure and surface air temperature data from 1953 to 1988. The sea‐ice anomalies in Hudson Bay, Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea are found to be related to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Southern Oscillation (SO). Through a spatial Student's i‐test and a Monte Carlo simulation, it is found that sea‐ice cover in both Hudson Bay and the Baffin Bay‐Labrador Sea region responds to a Low/Wet episode of the SO (defined as the period when the SO index becomes negative) mainly in summer. In this case, the sea‐ice cover has a large positive anomaly that starts in summer and continues through to autumn. The ice anomaly is attributed to the negative anomalies in the regional surface air temperature record during the summer and autumn when the Low/Wet episode is developing. During strong winter westerly wind events of the NAO, the Baffin Bay‐Labrador Sea ice cover in winter and spring has a positive anomaly due to the associated negative anomaly in surface air temperature. During the years in which strong westerly NAO and Low/Wet SO events occur simultaneously (as in 1972/73 and 1982/83), the sea ice is found to have large positive anomalies in the study region; in particular, such anomalies occurred for a major portion of one of the two years. A spectral analysis shows that sea‐ice fluctuations in the Baffin Bay‐Labrador Sea region respond to the SO and surface air temperature at about 1.7‐, 5‐ and 10‐year periods. In addition, a noticeable sea‐ice change was found (i.e. more polynyas occurred) around the time of the so‐called “climate jump” during the early 1960s. Data on ice thickness and on ice‐melt dates from Hudson Bay are also used to verify some of the above findings.     

Modelling the behaviour of oil spills in ice‐infested waters

Abstract

This paper describes methodologies developed for predicting the drift and spread of oil spills in ice‐infested waters. Particular emphasis is placed on oil spills in medium and high ice concentrations. For ice concentrations greater than about 30%, the oil is found to drift with the ice. Empirical methods are used to determine the spread of oil in ice of different concentrations. The study showed that the equilibrium oil thickness in slush or brash (broken) ice is nearly 4 times that on cold water, which is itself very different from that on warm water. Comparisons with limited available data show good agreement.     

Analysis of deep‐drogued satellite‐tracked drifter measurements in the northeast pacific

Abstract

We analyse the trajectories of 24 deep‐drogued, satellite‐tracked drifters launched between 50 and 52°N in the northeast Pacific during June and October 1987. Three aspects of the observed motions at the drogue depths of 100 to 120 m are studied: (i) the spatial structure of the mean and variance velocity fields; (ii) the dispersion and eddy diffusion characteristics of the fluctuating motions; and (iii) the properties of selected mesoscale eddies.

The mean Lagrangian velocity field is consistent with the mean flow pattern derived from the historical dynamic height topography. Fluctuating motions within the region are dominated by mesoscale eddies and meanders. Several instances of persistent O(100 days) westward flowing countercurrents were also observed. Based on the Lagrangian integral time‐ and length scales, drifter motions become decorrelated within a period of 10 days and a separation of 100 km. The mean zonal and meridional integral time‐scales of 4.5 and 3.6 days, respectively, are nearly identical with those obtained by Krauss and Böning (1987) from deep‐drogued drifter tracks in the North Atlantic. Because of the relatively small (<100 cm² s^?2) kinetic energy values in the northeast Pacific, the corresponding mean Lagrangian length scales of 29.4 and 29.9 km are roughly half those for the Atlantic.

The observed drifter dispersion is generally consistent with Taylor's (1921) theory for single‐particle dispersion in homogeneous isotropic turbulence. Estimates obtained using 476 pseudo‐drifter tracks generated from the original records indicate that the dispersion increases linearly with time, t, within the first 3 to 5 days of launch and subsequently increases as t^1/2 (the random‐walk regime) within 10 days of launch. The respective peak zonal and meridional eddy diffusion coefficients of 4.1 × and 3.8 × 10⁷ cm² s^?1 are reached within 30 days of deployment. Similar estimates for the peak eddy diffusivities are obtained using dispersion curves for sets of 4 drifters launched at the same location during the June and October deployments. The dispersion of these clusters followed an exponential rather than a t^1/2 dependence over the first 70 days after release.

Eddies are predominantly clockwise rotary and are characterized by radii of 26 ± 16 km, periods of rotation of 16.0 ± 5.2 days, and azimuthal current speeds of 12.7 ± 8.6 cm s^?1. One eddy was tracked for over 10 months. Oceanographic data collected during the October deployment period showed the eddies have vertical extents of 500 to 700 m and are linked to isotherm depressions of over 100 m in the main pycnocline. All eddies in the bifurcation zone propagate to the west at roughly 1.5 ± 0.4 cm s^?1 counter to the prevailing mean flow and winds. These speeds are consistent with the westward phase speeds of first mode baroclinic planetary (Rossby) waves.     

A review of analytical models of sea‐ice growth

Abstract

The modelling of sea‐ice growth is a classical problem in geophysics, which has been traditionally treated as one‐dimensional, considering only the vertical heat transfer. The modelling work commenced in the 1800s with analytic methods. These are very effective tools for examining the sea‐ice growth problem, providing a clear insight into the physical mechanisms and producing simple first‐order approximations for the ice thickness in various conditions. This paper describes the physical problem of sea‐ice growth, presents an analytical modelling framework for the problem and provides analytic solutions for different environmental conditions.     

Coupled ice‐ocean variability in the Greenland Sea

Abstract

A major surface feature of the Greenland Sea during winter is the frequent eastward extension of sea ice south of 75°N and an associated embayment to the north. These features are nominally connected with the East Greenland Current, and both the promontory and the embayment are readily apparent on climatic ice charts. However, there are significant changes in these features on time‐scales as short as a few days. Using a combination of satellite microwave images (SSM/I) of ice cover, meteorological data and in situ velocity, temperature and salinity records, we relate the ice distribution and its changes to the developing structure and circulation of the upper ocean during winter 1988–1989. Our measurements illustrate the preconditioning that leads to convective overturn, which in turn brings warmer water to the surface and results in the rapid disappearance of ice. In particular, the surface was cooled to the freezing point by early December and the salinity then increased through ice formation (about 0.016 m d^‐1) and brine rejection. Once the vertical density gradient was sufficiently eroded, a period of high heat flux (>300 W m^‐2) in late January provided enough buoyancy loss to convectively mix the upper water column to at least 200 m. We estimate vertical velocities at about 3 cm s^‐1 downward during the initial sinking. The deepening of the thermocline raised surface temperatures by over 1°C resulting in nearly 1.5 × 10⁵ km² of ice‐melt within two days. Average rates of ice retreat are about 11 km d^‐1 southwestward, generally consistent with a wind‐driven flow. Comparison of hydrographic surveys from before and after the overturning indicate the fresh water was advected out of the area, possibly to the south and east of our moorings.     

Sea‐ice interaction and the stability of the thermohaline circulation

Abstract

The role of sea‐ice in affecting the stability and long‐term variability of the oceanic thermohaline circulation (THC) is studied in this paper. The emphasis is placed on studying how sea‐ice might affect the stability and the long‐term variability of the THC through modulations of the surface heat and freshwater fluxes. A simple box model is analyzed to elucidate qualitatively the distinct physical meanings of these two processes. The analytical solution of this simple model indicates that, for the long timescales considered here, the thermal insulation stabilizes the THC while the freshwater feedback increases the effective inertia of the coupled ice‐ocean system. Sea‐ice insulation lessens the negative feedback between heat flux and the SST, and therefore, allows the SST to play a greater role in counteracting changes of the THC and high latitude salinity field. The freshwater feedback effectively links the surface heat flux to a freshwater reservoir, and thus, increases the effective inertia of the coupled ocean‐ice system. A two‐dimensional ocean model coupled with a thermodynamic sea‐ice model is used to estimate quantitatively the magnitudes of these two feedbacks. The numerical experiments involve the model's responses both to initial anomalies and to changes of forcing fields. For the free response cases (model responses to initial anomalies without changing the forcing fields), the model shows that the decay rate of an initial anomaly is greater when sea‐ice is included. For small perturbations the thermal insulation effect dominates over the freshwater feedback. The latter becomes increasingly more important for larger perturbations. In response to a change of external forcing, the presence of sea‐ice reduces the magnitude and the pace of the model's response. The numerical results are qualitatively consistent with the analytical solution of the box model.     

Comparison and fusion of co‐occurrence,Gabor and MRF texture features for classification of SAR sea‐ice imagery

Abstract

Image texture interpretation is an important aspect of the computer‐assisted discrimination of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sea‐ice imagery. Co‐occurrence probabilities are the most common approach used to solve this problem. However, other texture feature extraction methods exist that have not been fully studied for their ability to interpret SAR sea‐ice imagery. Gabor filters and Markov random fields (MRF) are two such methods considered here. Classification and significance level testing shows that co‐occurrence probabilities classify the data with the highest accuracy, with Gaborfilters a close second. MRF results significantly lag Gabor and co‐occurrence results. However, the MRF features are uncorrelated with respect to co‐occurrence and Gabor features. The fused co‐occurrence/MRF feature set achieves higher performance. In addition, it is demonstrated that uniform quantization is a preferred quantization method compared to histogram equalization.     

Low‐frequency subsurface current and density fluctuations in the strait of Georgia

Abstract

The depth‐time structure of low‐frequency subsurface current and density fluctuations in central Strait of Georgia is described. The measurements were made between February and May, 1981 with profiling Cyclesondes. The depth range of approximately 50 to 290 m was sampled in water depths of about 325 m. The mean current was cross‐strait and decreased with depth. The low‐frequency current fluctuations occurred predominantly at periods exceeding a week and also decreased with depth. Below about 200 m, there was an increasing tendency for the fluctuations to be aligned with the local topography. The maximum vertical separation for components of current to be significantly coherent was 100 m and was in the lowest frequency band. Currents separated by 4.1 km in the horizontal were correlated in the more energetic north‐south component.     

Surface‐absorbed and top‐of‐atmosphere radiation fluxes for the Mackenzie River basin from satellite observations and a regional climate model and an evaluation of the model

Abstract

Both the earth‐reflected shortwave and outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) fluxes at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) as well as surface‐absorbed solar fluxes from Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM) simulations of the Mackenzie River Basin for the period March 2000 to September 2003 are compared with the radiation fluxes deduced from satellite observations. The differences between the model and satellite solar fluxes at the TOA and at the surface, which are used in this paper to evaluate the CRCM performance, have opposite biases under clear skies and overcast conditions, suggesting that the surface albedo is underestimated while cloud albedo is overestimated. The slightly larger differences between the model and satellite fluxes at the surface compared to those at the TOA indicate the existence of a small positive atmospheric absorption bias in the model. The persistent overestimation of TOA reflected solar fluxes and underestimation of the surface‐absorbed solar fluxes by the CRCM under all sky conditions are consistent with the overestimation of cloud fraction by the CRCM. This results in a larger shortwave cloud radiative forcing (CRF) both at the TOA and at the surface in the CRCM simulation. The OLR from the CRCM agrees well with the satellite observations except for persistent negative biases during the winter months under all sky conditions. Under clear skies, the OLR is slightly underestimated by the CRCM during the winter months and overestimated in the other months. Under overcast conditions the OLR is underestimated by the CRCM, suggesting an underestimation of cloud‐top temperature by the CRCM. There is an improvement in differences between model and satellite fluxes compared to previously reported results largely because of changes to the treatment of the surface in the model.     

A note on brine layer spacing of first‐year sea ice

Abstract

Brine layer spacing has been measured in a core sample taken 19 January 1978 from Eclipse Sound, Baffin Island, Canada. Observations on snow and ice conditions and a record of air temperatures for the entire growth season allowed correlation of the brine layer spacing with the growth rate of the sea ice. Growth rate is related to climatology, and the vertical brine layer spacing profile in the ice provides a record of previous weather conditions. It is suggested that the spacing is inversely proportional to the growth rate, and could also be dependent on crystallographic orientation. The spacing decreased rapidly with depth near the bottom of the core sample, and this is not compatible with a general relation between spacing and growth rate. Before a definitive statement can be made, cores from a variety of locations, grown in a range of meteorological conditions, will have to be studied.     

Multi‐year sea‐ice conditions in the western Canadian arctic archipelago region of the northwest passage: 1968–2006

Abstract

Numerous studies have reported decreases in Arctic sea‐ice cover over the past several decades and General Circulation Model (GCM) simulations continue to predict future decreases. These decreases — particularly in thick perennial or multi‐year ice (MYI) — have led to considerable speculation about a more accessible Northwest Passage (NWP) as a transit route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA). The Canadian Ice Service Digital Archive (CISDA) is used to investigate dynamic import/export and in situ growth of MYI within the western CAA regions of the NWP from 1968 to 2006. This analysis finds that MYI conditions in the western CAA regions of the NWP have remained relatively stable because the M'Clintock Channel and Franklin regions continuously operate as a drain‐trap mechanism for MYI. Results also show that in addition to the Queen Elizabeth Islands (QEI) region, the Western Parry Channel and the M'Clintock Channel are also regions where a considerable amount of MYI forms in situ and combined with dynamic imports contributes to heavy MYI conditions. There is also evidence to suggest that more frequent dynamic import of MYI appears to have occurred since‐1999 compared to the formation of more MYI in situ before 1999. As a result, the drain‐trap mechanism that has historically maintained heavy MYI conditions in the NWP is perhaps operating faster now than it was in the past. Based on the 38‐year MYI record examined in this study, it is likely that the mechanisms operating within the western CAA regions of the NWP can facilitate the continued presence of MYI for quite some time.     

Comparison of airborne electromagnetic ice thickness data with NOAA/AVHRR and ERS‐1/SAR images

Abstract

Snow‐plus‐ice thickness and surface‐ice roughness data collected by a helicopter‐towed sensor package was used to identify surface‐ice properties in March 1992 AVHRR and SAR images for the land‐fast and mobile pack ice off the northern coast of Newfoundland. The sensor package consisted of an electromagnetic induction sensor and laser profilometer. Observed snow depths and ice thicknesses verified that snow‐plus‐ice thickness over undeformed ice can be obtained to an accuracy of ±10 cm. Snow‐plus‐ice thickness and surface roughness data for flight sections covering several hundred kilometres indicated the change in pack ice properties seen in images from thin, smooth coastal ice and open water conditions to thick, rough consolidated offshore pack ice. Ice charts covering the same area showed similar variations in ice conditions based on AVHRR and fixed‐wing reconnaissance data. In the ERS‐1 SAR image, low backscattering coefficients were associated with large, smooth coastal floes interspersed with areas of high backscatter indicating the presence of waves in open water areas. Backscattering coefficients were higher in the rubble areas near the inshore edge of the pack ice than in the interior of the pack ice itself. Distinguishing ice types on the basis of tone alone in SAR imagery was found to be problematic; however in combination with other remotely sensed data such as AVHRR data, SAR data will become more useful in distinguishing ice types.     

Global precipitation estimates from satellite: Using difference fields of outgoing long‐wave radiation

Abstract

Global precipitation estimates using satellite data are derived using difference fields of outgoing long‐wave radiation (OLR). The difference fields consist of clear OLR minus cloudy OLR, which is a measure of long‐wave cloud radiative forcing at the top of the earth‐atmosphere system; and clear daytime OLR minus clear night‐time OLR, which is a measure of the diurnal variation of surface heating. All geophysical parameters used to compute OLR are derived from an analysis of the HIRS2/MSU sounding data. The derived global precipitation estimates show good agreement with collocated raingauge data over land. The correlation coefficient between the precipitation estimates derived using difference fields of OLR and raingauge data over land is about 0.65 for the FGGEyear. The correlation coefficient between precipitation estimates derived using difference fields of OLR and the GOES Precipitation Index (GPI) fraction is about 0.914 from 30°S to 30°N for July 1983, and between the precipitation estimates derived using difference fields of OLR and the difference field of atmospheric reflectance is about 0.86.

Using one set of coefficients, global precipitation fields are derived for each 10‐day period and each month of the FGGE year (from December 1978 to November 1979). These fields contain rich information on seasonal variations.     

On the interannual variability of arctic sea‐level pressure and sea ice

Abstract

Monthly mean sea‐level pressure (SLP) data from the Northern Hemisphere for the period January 1952‐December 1987 are analysed. Fluctuations in this field over the Arctic on interannual time‐scales and their statistical association with fluctuations farther south are determined. The standard deviation of the interannual variability is largest compared with that of the annual cycle along the seaboards of the major land masses. The SLP anomalies are generally in phase over the entire Arctic Basin and extend south over the northern Russia and Canada, but tend to be out of phase with fluctuations at mid‐latitudes. The anomalies are most closely associated with fluctuations over the North Atlantic and Europe except near the Chukchi Sea to the north of Bering Strait. The associations with the North Pacific fluctuations become increasingly more prominent at most Arctic sites (e.g. the Canadian Arctic Archipelago) as the time‐scale increases.

Associations between the SLP fluctuations and atmospheric indices that represent processes affecting sea‐ice drift (wind stress and wind stress curl) are determined. In every case local associations dominate, but some remote ones are also evident. For example, changes in the magnitude of the wind stress curl over the Beaufort Sea are increased if the atmospheric circulation over the North Pacific is intensified; wind stress over the region where sea ice is exchanged between the Beaufort Gyre and the Transpolar Drift Stream is modulated by both the Southern and North Atlantic Oscillations.

Severe sea‐ice conditions in the Greenland Sea (as measured by the Koch Ice Index) coincide with a weakened atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic.     

The influence of Hudson Bay runoff and ice‐melt on the salinity of the inner Newfoundland Shelf

Abstract

The present study examines sources of the interannual variability in salinity on the Newfoundland continental shelf observed in a 40‐year time series from an oceanographic station known as Station 27. Specifically, we investigate, through lag‐correlation analysis, the a priori hypotheses that the salinity anomalies at Station 27 are determined by freshwater runoff anomalies from Hudson and Ungava bays and by ice‐melt anomalies in Hudson Bay and on the Labrador Shelf. Interannual variations of summer runoff into Hudson Bay were significantly negatively correlated with salinity anomalies on the Newfoundland Shelf with a lag (9 months) that is consistent with expected travel times based on known current velocities in Hudson Bay and along the Labrador Shelf. Sea‐ice extent over the Labrador and northern Newfoundland shelves was significantly negatively correlated with salinity at a lag of 3 to 4 months, corresponding to the time of minimum salinity at Station 27. It appears that ice‐melt over the Labrador‐northern Newfoundland Shelf is primarily responsible for the seasonal salinity minimum over the Newfoundland Shelf. Interannual variability in runoff into Ungava Bay and ice‐melt in Hudson Bay were not correlated with interannual salinity variations on the Newfoundland Shelf.     

Decadal‐to‐interdecadal fluctuations of arctic sea‐ice cover and the atmospheric circulation during 1954–1994

Abstract

The relationship between the Arctic and subarctic sea‐ice concentration (SIC) anomalies, particularly those associated with the decadal‐scale Greenland and Labrador Seas “Ice and Salinity Anomalies (ISAs) “, and the overlying atmospheric circulation fluctuations is investigated using the singular value decomposition (SVD) and composite map analysis methods. The data analyzed are monthly SIC and sea level pressure (SLP) anomalies, which cover the northern hemisphere poleward of 45°N and extend over the 41‐year period 1954–1994.

The SVD₁ (first) mode of the coupled variability, which accounts for 57% of the square covariance, is for the most part an atmosphere‐to‐ice forcing mode characterized by the decadal timescale. The aforementioned ISA anomalies are clearly captured by this mode whose SIC anomalies are dominated by a strong dipole across Greenland. However, as part of the same mode, there is also a weaker SIC dipole in the northern North Pacific which has opposite‐signed anomalies in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea. It is also shown that there exists a significant negative correlation between the decadal SIC variability in the Greenland‐Barents Seas region associated with this mode and the North Atlantic Oscillation, whose spectrum also exhibits a quasi‐decadal signal.

The SVD₂ mode accounts for 12% of the square covariance and shows no evidence of a dominant forcing field of either SIC or SLP. This SVD mode exhibits very low frequency (interdecadal) variability, and its co‐variability is mainly concentrated in the northern North Pacific. It appears to be a high‐latitude extension of the recently investigated interdecadal North Pacific Oscillation. The spatial structure of the second mode complements the case of the first SVD mode whose co‐variability mainly occurs in the northern North Atlantic.     

A decision‐analytic study of the joint value of seasonal precipitation and temperature forecasts in a choice‐of‐crop problem

Abstract

A static decision‐analytic method is used to investigate the economic value of bivariate ‐ precipitation and temperature ‐ seasonal forecasts of the form currently issued by the U.S. National Weather Service. This method is applied to a corn versus spring wheat choice‐of‐crop decision‐making problem by considering a transect of four counties across the northwestern margin of the North American corn belt. Numerical results indicate that seasonal forecasts of current quality can be of appreciable value (≥$1/ha) for some locations when the optimal action chosen on the basis of climatological information is only marginally preferred to another action. Increases in forecast value follow from hypothetical increases in the quality of both the precipitation and temperature components of the forecasts in the spring wheat region, whereas forecast value increases primarily as a function of the quality of the precipitation forecasts alone in the corn belt region. The results are very sensitive to absolute and relative crop prices.