Seasonal and inter-annual variations in Antarctic sea ice extent as mapped by radar altimetry

Journal Article · Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/GL017i010p01553· OSTI ID:6252789

Laxon, S ^[1]

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1. University College London, Surrey (England)

Previous work has shown that inter-annual variations in total sea ice extent may provide a sensitive indicator of global climate change. Data from passive microwave instruments have allowed mapping of global sea ice extents from 1973-76 and from 1978 up to September 1987, (Gloerson and Campbell, 1988). In this paper data from another microwave instrument, the Geosat radar altimeter, have been used to map the Antarctic sea ice extent for the period November 1986 to January 1989. Comparison with total Antarctic sea ice extents derived from the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) show excellent agreement during the freeze up period but show significant differences during the late part of the melt period.

• OSTI ID: 6252789
• Journal Information: Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (USA), Vol. 17:10; ISSN 0094-8276
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ANTARCTICA
ICE
CLIMATES
VARIATIONS
MONITORING
ALTIMETERS
ANNUAL VARIATIONS
GLOBAL ASPECTS
MAPPING
MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT
RADAR
RADIOMETERS
REMOTE SENSING
SATELLITES
SEAS
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
ANTARCTIC REGIONS
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
POLAR REGIONS
RADIATION DETECTORS
RANGE FINDERS
SURFACE WATERS
540110*