Leads and ridges in Arctic sea ice from RGPS data and a new tracking algorithm

Hutter, Nils; Zampieri, Lorenzo; Losch, Martin

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-627-2019

Articles | Volume 13, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-627-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-627-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 13, issue 2

Research article

|

20 Feb 2019

Research article |

| 20 Feb 2019

Leads and ridges in Arctic sea ice from RGPS data and a new tracking algorithm

Nils Hutter, Lorenzo Zampieri, and Martin Losch

Data sets

Linear Kinematic Features (leads & pressure ridges) detected and tracked in RADARSAT Geophysical Processor System (RGPS) sea-ice deformation data from 1997 to 2008 N. Hutter, L. Zampieri, and M. Losch https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.898114

Model code and software

lkf_tools: a code to detect and track Linear Kinematic Features (LKFs) in sea-ice deformation data N. Hutter https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2560078

Short summary

Arctic sea ice is an aggregate of ice floes with various sizes. The different sizes result from constant deformation of the ice pack. If a floe breaks, open ocean is exposed in a lead. Collision of floes forms pressure ridges. Here, we present algorithms that detect and track these deformation features in satellite observations and model output. The tracked features are used to provide a comprehensive description of localized deformation of sea ice and help to understand its material properties.