Enhanced Arctic Ice Concentration Estimation Merging MODIS Ice Surface Temperature and SSM/I Sea-Ice Concentration

Ice concentration data from passive microwave sensors are not reliable during the summer melt season. In this study passive microwave ice concentration estimates are improved upon through the assimilation of ice surface temperature data from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Ice concentration from the analysis is converted to ice extent and compared with data from the Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS). Ice concentration analysis from data assimilation is in better agreement with the IMS data than the original passive microwave data, with the largest improvements occurring during sea-ice melt.