DETERMINATION OF SEA ICE DRIFT USING SIDE-LOOKING AIRBORNE RADAR

Side-Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR) has been used experimentally to map sea ice conditions since the early 1960's. In conjunction with the MANHATTAN tanker test, the U.S. Coast Guard equipped a C-130 aircraft with a Philco-Ford AN/DPD-2 Side-Looking Radar (Ku band) and conducted ice mapping experiments in the Northwest Passage during September 1969. In addition to observing the overall ice conditions, individual ice floes were identified on SLAR imagery by their size, shape, and surface characteristics. The results of this experiment revealed that single ice floes, as well as general ice masses, could be tracked to an accuracy of nearly one nautical mile. Also, water currents appear to have dominant long term influence on ice drift in this area. By assuming that one can obtain measures of the wind stress, Coriolis force, and pressure gradient force, one may be able to ascertain approximate values of the surface ocean currents in the vicinity of a given floe. (Author)

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Also published in the Proceedings of the International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment (7th), 17-21 May 1971, p2155-2168.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

  Institute of Science and Technology
  Ann Arbor, MI  United States  48109
• Authors:
  • Johnson, J D
  • Farmer, L D
• Publication Date: 1971

Media Info

• Pagination: 14 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Drift ice; Ice; Identification systems; Remote sensing; Side looking radar
• Old TRIS Terms: Ice identification
• Subject Areas: Hydraulics and Hydrology; Marine Transportation; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00028945
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: 10259-1-X
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 10 1972 12:00AM