Sea Ice Observations in Polar Regions: Evolution of Technologies in Remote Sensing

Evolution of remote sensing sensors technologies is presented, with emphasis on its suitability in observing the polar regions. The extent of influence of polar regions on the global climate and vice versa is the spearhead of climate change research. The extensive cover of sea ice has major impacts on the atmosphere, oceans, and terrestrial and marine ecosystems of the polar regions in particular and teleconnection on other processes elsewhere. Sea ice covers vast areas of the polar oceans, ranging from ~18 × 106 km2 to ~23 × 106 km2, combined for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. However, both polar regions are witnessing contrasting rather contradicting effects of climate change. The Arctic sea ice extent is declining at a rate of 0.53 × 106 km2·decade–1, whereasAntarcticaexhibits a positive trend at the rate of 0.167 × 106 km2·decade–1. This work reviews literature published in the field of sea ice remote sensing, to evaluate and access success and failures of different sensors to observe physical features of sea ice. The chronological development series of different sensors on different satellite systems, sensor specifications and datasets are examined and how they have evolved to meet the growing needs of users is outlined. Different remote sensing technology and observational methods and their suitability to observe specific sea ice property are also discussed. A pattern has emerged, which shows that microwave sensors are inherently superior to visible and infrared in monitoring seasonal and annual changes in sea ice. Degree of successes achieved through remote sensing techniques by various investigators has been compared. Some technologies appear to work better under certain conditions than others, and it is now well accepted that there is no algorithm that is ideal globally. Contribution of Indian remote sensing satellites is also reviewed in the context of polar research. This review suggests different primary datasets for further research on sea ice features (sea ice extent, ice type, sea ice thickness, etc.). This work also examines past achievements and how far these capabilities have evolved and tap into current state of art/direction of sensor technologies. Effective monitoring and syntheses of past few decades of research pinpoint useful datasets for sea ice monitoring, thereby avoiding wastage of resources to find practical datasets to monitor these physically inaccessible regions.

Polarization ratio characteristics of electromagnetic scattering fromsea ice inpolar areas

In the global climate system, the polar regions are sensitive indicators of climate change, in which sea ice plays an important role. Satellite remote sensing is a significant tool for monitoring sea ice. The use of synthetic aperture radar(SAR) images to distinguish sea ice from sea water is one of the current research hotspots in this topic. To distinguish sea ice from the open sea, the polarization ratio characteristics of sea ice and sea water are studied for L-band and C-band radars, based on an electromagnetic scattering model of sea ice derived from the integral equation method(IEM) and the radiative transfer(RT) model. Numerical experiments are carried out based on the model and the results are given as follows. For L-band, the polarization ratio for sea water depends only on the incident angle, while the polarization ratio for sea ice is related to the incident angle and the ice thickness. For C-band, the sea water polarization ratio is influenced by the incident angle and the root mean square(RMS) height of the sea surface. For C-band, for small to medium incident angles,the polarization ratio for bare sea ice is mainly determined by the incident angle and ice thickness. When the incident angle increases, the RMS height will also affect the polarization ratio for bare sea ice. If snow covers the sea ice, then the polarization ratio for sea ice decreases and is affected by the RMS height of snow surface, snow thickness, volume fraction and the radius of scatterers. The results show that the sea ice and the open sea can be distinguished by using either L-band or C-band radar according to their polarization ratio difference. However, the ability of L-band to make this differentiation is higher than that of C-band.

Relationship of Arctic sea ice and Northern Hemispheric 500 hPa Polar vortices

Using the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis monthly 500 hPa height data on a 2.5 latitude-longitude grid and 1°×1° sea ice data,the polar vortex area,intensity index and arctic sea ice area index are calculated respectively,and the meridional distribution,period variation and the abrupts in the long range trend are analyzed to study their relationship.The results show that the meridional distribution of sea ice and polar vortex h-ave distinctive difference,the relative positions of them are different in the eastern and western hemispheres,and exept they have periods of 4 months,quasi half year,quasi year,4-5 years and 10 years commonly,and each of them has its own respective variation as well.The sea ice area is decreasing apparently since 1980’s,so is the polar vortex area,but their abrupt changge time are different totally.The area of sea ice and polar vortex has prominent positive correlation,but the relationship of sea ice intensity,polar vortex intensity,polar vortex area is complicated.

A coupled regional Arctic sea ice-ocean model:configuration and application

A regional sea ice-ocean coupled model for the Arctic Ocean was developed, based on the MlTgcm ocean circulation model and classical Hibler79 type two category thermodynamics-dynamics sea ice model.The sea ice dynamics and thermodynamics were considered based on Viscous-Plastic（VP） and Winton three-layer models,respectively.A detailed configuration of coupled model has been introduced.Special attention has been paid to the model grid setup,subgrid paramerization,ice-ocean coupling and open boundary treatment.The coupled model was then applied and two test run examples were presented.The first model run was a climatology simulation with 10 years（1992—2002） averaged NCAR/NCEP reanalysis data as atmospheric forcing.The second model run was a seasonal simulation for the period of 1992—2007.The atmospheric forcing was daily NCAR/NCEP reanalysis.The climatology simulation captured the general pattern of the sea ice thickness distribution of the Arctic,i.e.,the thickest sea ice is situated around the Canada Archipelago and the north coast of the Greenland. For the second model run,the modeled September Sea ice extent anomaly from 1992—2007 was highly correlated with the observations,with a linear correlation coefficient of 0.88.The minimum of the Arctic sea ice area in the September of 2007 was unprecedented.The modeled sea ice area and extent for this minimum was overestimated relative to the observations.However,it captured the general pattern of the sea ice retreat.

Evaluation of the Polar Code in different environments and for different maritime activities in the two polar regions

Because of the decrease in sea ice coverage,maritime activities in the polar regions have increased steadily over the years and several issues related to maritime activities have arisen.It is essential to understand these challenges because they could have serious political,environmental,and economic consequences.Although there are significant geographical and legal differences and differences in the types of activities between the Arctic and the Antarctic,a single International Maritime Organization Polar Code covers both regions.In this analysis,changes in polar regions are introduced,and the differences between the Arctic and Antarctic are discussed.The differences in maritime activities in the two polar regions are then discussed,and the Polar Code is evaluated in terms of these differences.

The research of Polar sea ice and its role in climate change

As an important part of global climate system, the Polar sea ice is effccting on global climate changes through ocean surface radiation balance, mass balance, energy balance as well as the circulating of sea water temperature and salinity. Sea ice research has a centuries - old history. The many correlative sea ice projects were established through the extensive international cooperation during the period from the primary research of intensity and the boaring capacity of sea ice to the development of sea/ice/air coupled model. Based on these reseamhes, the sea ice variety was combined with the global climate change. All research about sea ice includes： the physical properties and processes of sea ice and its snow cover, the ecosystem of sea ice regions, sea ice and upper snow albedo, mass balance of sea ice regions, sea ice and climate coupled model. The simulation suggests that the both of the area and volume of polar sea ice would be reduced in next century. With the developing of the sea ice research, more scientific issues are mentioned. Such as the interaction between sea ice and the other factors of global climate system, the seasonal and regional distribution of polar sea ice thickness, polar sea ice boundary and area variety trends, the growth and melt as well as their influencing factors, the role of the polynya and the sea/air interactions. We should give the best solutions to all of the issues in future sea ice studying.

The Role of the Southern Hemisphere Polar Cell on Antarctic Sea Ice Variability

The study explores modes of variability in the Southern Polar Cell and their relationship with known global climate modes and Antarctic sea ice. It is found that Polar Cell is barotropic in nature and 500 hPa geo-potential height (Z500) field can satisfactorily represent variability in the Polar Cell. First, three leading Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) modes of Z500 account for nearly 80% of observed variability in the Polar Cell. Dominant mode (PC1500) comprises of high pressure divergence zone over Antarctica. Second leading mode (PC2500) is low pressure zone covering Amundsen-Bellingshausen Sea (ABS) similar to ABS low feature. A new climate mode called Polar Coastal Index (PCI) is defined, which describes more than 15% and close to 30% variability of circumpolar trough and ABS low, respectively. Out of four modes defined in this study, only PCI and PC2500 show linear trends and clear seasonality. Interestingly, both modes are affected by modulation of ABS low due to tropical ENSO forcing. SAM signature is present in Polar Cell as PC1500 shares large variance with it. The largest impact on sea ice comes from PC2500 followed by PC1500 in the Antarctic Dipole regions. However, this study suggests contemporary sea ice trends cannot be sustained, and can reverse given that trends in PCI and PC2500 favour a reversal. These results indicate that ENSO-driven Polar Cell variability plays a crucial role influencing Antarctic sea ice as it interacts with other climate modes and leads the combined impact at the interannual time scale.

Using a skillful statistical model to predict September sea ice covering Arctic shipping routes

The rapid decrease in Arctic sea ice cover and thickness not only has a linkage with extreme weather in the midlatitudes but also brings more opportunities for Arctic shipping routes and polar resource exploration,both of which motivate us to further understand causes of sea-ice variations and to obtain more accurate estimates of seaice cover in the future.Here,a novel data-driven method,the causal effect networks algorithm,is applied to identify the direct precursors of September sea-ice extent covering the Northern Sea Route and Transpolar Sea Route at different lead times so that statistical models can be constructed for sea-ice prediction.The whole study area was also divided into two parts:the northern region covered by multiyear ice and the southern region covered by seasonal ice.The forecast models of September sea-ice extent in the whole study area(TSIE)and southern region(SSIE)at lead times of 1–4 months can explain over 65%and 79%of the variances,respectively,but the forecast skill of sea-ice extent in the northern region(NSIE)is limited at a lead time of 1 month.At lead times of 1–4 months,local sea-ice concentration and sea-ice thickness have a larger influence on September TSIE and SSIE than other teleconnection factors.When the lead time is more than 4 months,the surface meridional wind anomaly from northern Europe in the preceding autumn or early winter is dominant for September TSIE variations but is comparable to thermodynamic factors for NSIE and SSIE.We suggest that this study provides a complementary approach for predicting regional sea ice and is helpful in evaluating and improving climate models.

Winter sea ice albedo variations in the Bohai Sea of China

Sea ice conditions in the Bohai Sea of China are sensitive to large-scale climatic variations. On the basis of CLARA-A1-SAL data, the albedo variations are examined in space and time in the winter（December, January and February） from 1992 to 2008 in the Bohai Sea sea ice region. Time series data of the sea ice concentration（SIC）, the sea ice extent（SIE） and the sea surface temperature（SST） are used to analyze their relationship with the albedo. The sea ice albedo changed in volatility appears along with time, the trend is not obvious and increases very slightly during the study period at a rate of 0.388% per decade over the Bohai Sea sea ice region.The interannual variation is between 9.93% and 14.50%, and the average albedo is 11.79%. The sea ice albedo in years with heavy sea ice coverage, 1999, 2000 and 2005, is significantly higher than that in other years; in years with light sea ice coverage, 1994, 1998, 2001 and 2006, has low values. For the monthly albedo, the increasing trend（at a rate of 0.988% per decade） in December is distinctly higher than that in January and February. The mean albedo in January（12.90%） is also distinctly higher than that in the other two months. The albedo is significantly positively correlated with the SIC and is significantly negatively correlated with the SST（significance level 90%）.

Overview of China Polar Climate Change Annual Report(2022)

The China Meteorological Administration recently released China Polar Climate Change Annual Report(2022)in Chinese,with the following main conclusions.Using the China Reanalysis-40 dataset(CRA-40),rapid warming has been observed in the Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica since 1979,with some parts of East Antarctica also experiencing warming.In 2022,the regional average temperature in Antarctica based on observational data was close to the long-term average(1991-2020).The Arctic,on the other hand,has experienced a warming trend at a rate of 0.63℃per decade from 1979 to 2022 based on CRA-40,which is 3.7 times the global mean during the same period(0.17℃per decade).In 2022,the overall temperature in the Arctic,using station data,was 1.10℃above the long-term average(1991-2020).In recent years,both the Antarctic and Arctic regions have witnessed an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.In 2022,based on the sea ice extent from National Snow and Ice Data Center,USA,Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest extent on record since 1979,and on 18 March,the most rapid surface warming event ever recorded on Earth occurred in the Antarctic,with a temperature increase of 49℃within 3 d.This report has been integrated into China's National Climate Change Bulletin system,to contribute to raising public awareness of polar climate change and providing valuable scientific references to address climate change.

CAS FGOALS-f3-L Large-ensemble Simulations for the CMIP6 Polar Amplification Model Intercomparison Project

Large-ensemble simulations of the atmosphere-only time-slice experiments for the Polar Amplification Model Intercomparison Project(PAMIP)were carried out by the model group of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System(FGOALS-f3-L).Eight groups of experiments forced by different combinations of the sea surface temperature(SST)and sea ice concentration(SIC)for pre-industrial,present-day,and future conditions were performed and published.The time-lag method was used to generate the 100 ensemble members,with each member integrating from 1 April 2000 to 30 June 2001 and the first two months as the spin-up period.The basic model responses of the surface air temperature(SAT)and precipitation were documented.The results indicate that Arctic amplification is mainly caused by Arctic SIC forcing changes.The SAT responses to the Arctic SIC decrease alone show an obvious increase over high latitudes,which is similar to the results from the combined forcing of SST and SIC.However,the change in global precipitation is dominated by the changes in the global SST rather than SIC,partly because tropical precipitation is mainly driven by local SST changes.The uncertainty of the model responses was also investigated through the analysis of the large-ensemble members.The relative roles of SST and SIC,together with their combined influence on Arctic amplification,are also discussed.All of these model datasets will contribute to PAMIP multi-model analysis and improve the understanding of polar amplification.

Review of pre-processing technologies for ice cores

High-resolution ice core records covering long time spans enable reconstruction of the past climatic and environmental conditions allowing the investigation of the earth system's evolution. Preprocessing of ice cores has direct impacts on the data quality control for further analysis since the conventional ice core processing is time-consuming, produces qualitative data, leads to ice mass loss, and leads to risks of potential secondary pollution. However, over the past several decades, preprocessing of ice cores has received less attention than the improvement of ice drilling, the analytical methodology of various indices, and the researches on the climatic and environmental significance of ice core records. Therefore, this papers reviews the development of the processing for ice cores including framework, design as well as materials, analyzes the technical advantages and disadvantages of the different systems. In the past, continuous flowanalysis(CFA) has been successfully applied to process the polar ice cores. However, it is not suitable for ice cores outside polar region because of high level of particles, the memory effect between samples, and the filtration before injection. Ice core processing is a subtle and professional operation due to the fragility of the nonmetallic materials and the random distribution of particles and air bubbles in ice cores, which aggravates uncertainty in the measurements. The future developments of CFA are discussed in preprocessing, memory effect, challenge for brittle ice, coupling with real-time analysis and optimization of CFA in the field. Furthermore, non-polluting cutters with many different configurations could be designed to cut and scrape in multiple directions and to separate inner and outer portions of the core. This system also needs to be coupled with streamlined operation of packaging, coding, and stacking that can be implemented at high resolution and rate, avoiding manual intervention. At the same time, information of the longitudinal sections could be scanned andidentified, and then classified to obtain quantitative data. In addition, irregular ice volume and weight can also be obtained accurately. These improvements are recorded automatically via user-friendly interfaces. These innovations may be applied to other paleomedias with similar features and needs.

冰水池中海冰模拟技术现状与关键问题

冰水池模型试验对发展冰区船舶海洋工程和推进极地开发利用起到至关重要的支撑作用,其中完备的海冰模拟能力是进行冰区装备模型试验研究进而开展航行作业性能和安全性预报与评估的关键技术保障。本文总结了国内外冰水池海冰模拟技术现状,比较分析了两种类型制冰技术及其模型冰的物理力学特性,给出了冰水池海冰模拟能力发展趋势;同时,明确了冰水池中海冰模拟的关键问题,剖析了先进制冰技术研发面临的技术挑战,可为进一步开展相关基础研究、探索科学的模型冰制备方法提供引导。

ANTARCTIC SEA ICE AND THE POLAR VORTEX INDEX:TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP

The cluster analysis method has been used to divide the Antarctic sea ice variation field into 5 sectors.Then,for each of these sectors,the corresponding indexes of vortex area and vortex intensity on the 500 hPa level have been calcu- lated.These data were used to analyse the temporal and spatial characteristics of both Antarctic sea ice and the vortex index variations and their relationship.Our results show that substantial differences are presented in the climatic pattern and interannual variations of the sea ice data and vortex index in different sectors.The maximum sea ice extent varia- tions appear in sector 1 and sector 4.Oscillation periods of 2—2.5 and 5—7 years exist in the variations of sea ice extent and vortex index in most sectors.A positive trend is only found in sector 1 sea ice extent while the other sectors show negative trends.The average extent of the Antarctic sea ice as a whole has retreated at a rate of 1.6 latitudes per 100 years.The vortex areas for all sectors have decreased.Nevertheless,the vortex intensities in 3 sectors have increased.The relationship between sea ice and vortex characters in each sector is obvious,but a little complex.Sectors 1 and 5,which are located in the Southeast Pacific and South Atlantic,are the most sensitive areas in terms of sea ice/atmosphere interaction.

Decadal Change of the Linkage between Sea Ice over the Barents–Kara Seas in November– December and the Stratospheric Polar Vortex in Subsequent January

The linkage between the sea ice concentration(SIC)over the Barents–Kara Seas in November–December(SIC_BKS_ND)and the stratospheric polar vortex(SPV)in subsequent January(SPV_Jan)is investigated.It is found that SIC_BKS_ND is positively(negatively)correlated with SPV_Jan for the period 1979–1995(1996–2009).Further analyses reveal that,during 1979–1995(1996–2009),SIC_BKS_ND is relatively higher(lower),accompanied by smaller(larger)interannual variability with its center shifting northwest(southeast).Meanwhile,the polar front jet waveguide is relatively stronger(weaker).The simultaneous anomalous eastward-propagating Rossby waves excited by anomalously low SIC_BKS_ND are stronger(weaker),which results in the stronger(weaker)negative–positive–negative wave-train structure of geopotential height anomalies over Eurasia,with the location of these anomalous height centers shifting remarkably westward(eastward).Such changes tend to enhance(suppress)vertically propagating tropospheric planetary waves into the lower stratosphere at high-latitude via constructive(destructive)interference of anomalous tropospheric wave-train structure with the climatological planetary waves,subsequently weakening(strengthening)SPV_Jan.However,in conjunction with anomalously high SIC_BKS_ND,the interference of the tropospheric wave-train structure anomalies and their climatologies shows an opposite distribution to that of low SIC_BKS_ND anomalies,which leads to a strong(weak)SPV_Jan anomaly during 1979–1995(1996–2009).

极地海冰的研究及其在气候变化中的作用

极地海冰作为全球气候系统的一个重要组成部分,通过影响大洋表面的辐射平衡、物质平衡、能量平衡以及大洋温、盐流的形成和循环而影响全球气候变化.从最初研究极地海冰的强度和承载力到目前海/冰/气相互作用全球气候耦合模型的建立,使海冰变化和全球气候变化紧密结合起来.这些研究领域主要有:海冰及其表层雪的物理特性和过程、海冰区域生态特征、海冰区与气候相关的反照率和物质平衡研究以及海冰气候耦合模型等大的领域.模拟显示,21世纪因为全球变暖,南北极海冰都将减少.海冰和全球气候系统其它要素之间的相互作用问题、极地海冰的厚度季节性区域性分布问题、极地海冰边界及范围变化趋势问题、生消关键过程及其影响因素问题、冰间湖的作用以及海气相互作用等将是未来重要的研究方向.

俄罗斯远东亚极地海域钻井取心技术

鄂霍次克海位于俄罗斯远东,属于亚极地气候环境。在钻井工程中降低取心作业时间、提高取心作业效率成为一个紧迫的课题。该地区取心地层中含有大量泥质粉砂岩、硬质夹层和砾石夹层,可钻性差,机械钻速低,取心难度大。通过优选取心钻头、岩心爪和取心筒等关键工具,制定合理的施工方法,提高了取心作业效率,减少了下钻次数。在3口探井的应用中,取心作业时间均能控制在设计范围之内,确保了钻井平台能在安全窗口内撤离井场,同时将取心收获率保持在90%以上。该技术的成功应用对同类区块今后的取心作业有积极的指导意义。

星载微波散射计技术及其在极地的应用

简要介绍了微波散射计的原理、星载微波散射计的发展状况及用于提高散射计图像空间分辨率的图像滤波重建算法。在此基础上结合几种星载微波散射计数据简要介绍了微波散射计在南北两极的应用情况 (海冰图测绘、海冰运动监测、海冰分类、极地冰盖研究等 )及其未来研究展望。

极区海洋锚碇测流系统的设计和布放

中国第二次北极科学考察期间,在白令海峡和北冰洋楚科奇海布放了一套潜标和两套明标,这是我国首次在极区布放锚碇观测系统。潜标和明标在本次考察结束前被成功回收,获得了最长为45 d的连续观测资料。文中通过介绍这次布放过程,对极区锚碇系统的相关技术问题进行了讨论,包括观测站位和层次的选择,锚碇系统的设计,布放步骤等,为在海冰存在的低温海域布放锚碇系统提供参考。

高分三号卫星在极地冰区导航中的应用评价

针对面向极地冰区船舶航行导航的需求,利用我国第一颗民用合成孔径雷达卫星高分三号(GF-3)数据,通过定量化统计分析,开展了GF-3号标准条带模式数据在极地冰区应用潜力的评估。结果表明,GF-3号标准条带数据能较好地反映冰面的纹理,HH极化在图像层次和信息量上要优于HV极化;在图像的层次表达方面,GF-3/HV极化数据优于Radarsat-2/HV数据,GF-3/HH极化数据不如Radarsat-2/HH极化数据;GF-3数据能较好地反映南极冰区的纹理和类型特征,对于冰山、冰裂隙等冰上障碍具有较好的识别能力,对极地冰区导航和冰上卸货具备较好的应用效果。