Articles | Volume 15, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4501-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4501-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
24 Sep 2021
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 24 Sep 2021
| 24 Sep 2021
Giant ice rings in southern Baikal: multi-satellite data help to study ice cover dynamics and eddies under ice
Alexei V. Kouraev
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
LEGOS, Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, UPS Toulouse, France
Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia
Elena A. Zakharova
EOLA, Toulouse, France
Institute of Water Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Andrey G. Kostianoy
P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
S. Yu. Witte Moscow University, Moscow, Russia
Mikhail N. Shimaraev
Limnological Institute, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Irkutsk, Russia
Lev V. Desinov
Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
deceased
Evgeny A. Petrov
Baikal Museum of the Irkutsk Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Listvyanka village, Irkutsk region, Russia
Nicholas M. J. Hall
LEGOS, Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, UPS Toulouse, France
Frédérique Rémy
LEGOS, Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, UPS Toulouse, France
Andrey Ya. Suknev
Great Baikal Trail (GBT) Buryatiya, Ulan-Ude, Russia
Related authors
Elena Zakharova, Svetlana Agafonova, Claude Duguay, Natalia Frolova, and Alexei Kouraev
The Cryosphere, 15, 5387–5407, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5387-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5387-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The paper investigates the performance of altimetric satellite instruments to detect river ice onset and melting dates and to retrieve ice thickness of the Ob River. This is a first attempt to use satellite altimetry for monitoring ice in the challenging conditions restrained by the object size. A novel approach permitted elaboration of the spatiotemporal ice thickness product for the 400 km river reach. The potential of the product for prediction of ice road operation was demonstrated.
Georg Pointner, Annett Bartsch, Yury A. Dvornikov, and Alexei V. Kouraev
The Cryosphere, 15, 1907–1929, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1907-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1907-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents strong new indications that regions of anomalously low backscatter in C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery of ice of Lake Neyto in northwestern Siberia are related to strong emissions of natural gas. Spatio-temporal dynamics and potential scattering and formation mechanisms are assessed. It is suggested that exploiting the spatial and temporal properties of Sentinel-1 SAR data may be beneficial for the identification of similar phenomena in other Arctic lakes.
Ghislain Picard, Justin Murfitt, Elena Zakharova, Pierre Zeiger, Laurent Arnaud, Jeremie Aublanc, Jack C. Landy, Michele Scagliola, and Claude Duguay
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6056, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6056, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Short summary
Radar altimeters measure ice-sheet elevation and sea-ice thickness. To improve their accuracy, we developed a model that simulates altimeter waveforms based on the physical properties of snow and sea ice. It computes the power, time, and Doppler shift of radar echoes as waves travel to the surface, interact with snow and ice, and return to the satellite. The model was verified internally, validated against other models and applied in Antarctica using in-situ snow measurements.
Florent Garnier, Sara Fleury, Gilles Garric, Jérôme Bouffard, Michel Tsamados, Antoine Laforge, Marion Bocquet, Renée Mie Fredensborg Hansen, and Frédérique Remy
The Cryosphere, 15, 5483–5512, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5483-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5483-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Snow depth data are essential to monitor the impacts of climate change on sea ice volume variations and their impacts on the climate system. For that purpose, we present and assess the altimetric snow depth product, computed in both hemispheres from CryoSat-2 and SARAL satellite data. The use of these data instead of the common climatology reduces the sea ice thickness by about 30 cm over the 2013–2019 period. These data are also crucial to argue for the launch of the CRISTAL satellite mission.
Elena Zakharova, Svetlana Agafonova, Claude Duguay, Natalia Frolova, and Alexei Kouraev
The Cryosphere, 15, 5387–5407, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5387-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5387-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The paper investigates the performance of altimetric satellite instruments to detect river ice onset and melting dates and to retrieve ice thickness of the Ob River. This is a first attempt to use satellite altimetry for monitoring ice in the challenging conditions restrained by the object size. A novel approach permitted elaboration of the spatiotemporal ice thickness product for the 400 km river reach. The potential of the product for prediction of ice road operation was demonstrated.
Georg Pointner, Annett Bartsch, Yury A. Dvornikov, and Alexei V. Kouraev
The Cryosphere, 15, 1907–1929, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1907-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1907-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents strong new indications that regions of anomalously low backscatter in C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery of ice of Lake Neyto in northwestern Siberia are related to strong emissions of natural gas. Spatio-temporal dynamics and potential scattering and formation mechanisms are assessed. It is suggested that exploiting the spatial and temporal properties of Sentinel-1 SAR data may be beneficial for the identification of similar phenomena in other Arctic lakes.
Eugeny A. Zakharchuk, Natalia Tikhonova, Elena Zakharova, and Alexei V. Kouraev
Ocean Sci., 17, 543–559, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-543-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-543-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Investigation of free sea level oscillations is important for understanding of specifics of oceanographic processes and for their identification. Based on numerical experiments with the 3-D INMOM hydrodynamic model, we demonstrated that after cessation of atmospheric forcing, the water masses of the Baltic Sea return to equilibrium state as in the form of barotropic progressive–standing waves with 13–44 h periods, as in the form of baroclinic low-frequency waves with periods of 89 and 358 d.
Cited articles
Ashton, G. D.:
Ice in lakes and rivers,
Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 June 2007,
available at: https://www.britannica.com/science/lake-ice (last access: 17 March 2021), 2007.
Atlas of the Lake Baikal:
Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian branch, Moscow: Federal Service of geodesy and cartography, 160 pp.,
in: Russian Circles in thin ice, Lake Baikal, Russia, NASA Earth Observatory, Image of the day – 25 May 2009,
available at: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=38721 (last access: 17 March 2021), 1993.
Atwood, D. K., Gunn, G. E., Roussi, C., Wu, J., Duguay, C., and Sarabandi, K.:
Microwave backscatter from Arctic lake ice and polarimetric implications,
IEEE T. Geosci. Remote,
53, 5972–5982, 2015.
Biancamaria S., Lettenmaier D., and Pavelsky T.:
The SWOT Mission and Its Capabilities for Land Hydrology,
Surv. Geophys.,
37, 307–337, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-015-9346-y, 2016.
Bouffard, D. and Wüest, A.:
Convection in lakes,
Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech.,
51, 189–215, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-fluid-010518-040506, 2019.
Duguay, C. R., Bernier, M., Gauthier, Y., and Kouraev, A. V.: Remote sensing of lake and river ice, Remote Sensing of the Cryosphere, 273–306, edited by: Tedesco, M., John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 2015.
ESA: SNAP software, available at: https://step.esa.int/main/download/snap-download/, last access: 20 September 2021.
Evans, C. A., Lulla, K. P., Dessinov, L. V., Glazovskiy, N. F., Kasimov, N. S., and Knizhnikov, Yu. F.:
Shuttle-Mir Earth Science investigations: Studying Dynamic Earth from the Mir Space Station,
in: Dynamic Earth Environments. Remote Sensing observations from Shuttle-Mir Missions,
edited by: Lulla, K. P., Dessinov, L. V., Evans, C. A., Dickerson, P. W., and Robinson, J. A.,
John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1–14, 2000.
GCOS web site:
available at: https://gcos.wmo.int/en/home (last access: 19 July 2021), 2021.
GCOS web terrestrial network web site:
available at: https://gcos.wmo.int/en/networks/terrestrial (last access: 19 July 2021), 2021.
Granin, N. G., Wüest, A., Gnatovskii, R. Yu., and Kapitanov, V. V.:
Evidence of activity of mud volcanoes in Baikal,
in: The Fourth Vereshchagin Baikal Conference: Abstracts of Papers and Posters, 26 September–1 October 2005, Institute of Geography SB RAS, Irkutsk, 52–53, 2005 (in Russian).
Granin, N. G., Makarov, M. M., Kucher, K. M., and Gnatovsky, R. Y.:
The deep water gas seeps in Lake Baikal,
Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on gas in marine sediments, Bremen, Germany, 15–19 September, 76–77, 2008.
Granin, N. G., Kozlov, V. V., Tsvetova, E. A., and Gnatovsky, R. Y.:
Field studies and some results of numerical modeling of a ring structure on Baikal ice,
Doklady Earth Sci.,
461, 316–320, 2015.
Granin, N. G., Mizandrontsev, I. B., Kozlov, V. V., Tsvetova, E. A., Gnatovskii, R. Yu., Blinov, V. V., Aslamov, I. A., Kucher, K. M., Ivanov, V. G., and Zhdanov A. A.:
Natural ring structures on the Baikal ice cover: Analysis of experimental data and mathematical modeling,
Russ. Geol. Geophys.+,
59, 1514–1525, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rgg.2018.10.011, 2018.
Gunn, G. E., Duguay, C. R., Atwood, D. K., King, J., and Toose, P.:
Observing scattering mechanisms of bubbled freshwater lake ice using polarimetric RADARSAT-2 (C-Band) and UW-Scat (X-and Ku-Bands),
IEEE T. Geosci. Remote,
56, 2887–2903, 2018.
Kääb, A., Altena, B., and Mascaro, J.: River-ice and water velocities using the Planet optical cubesat constellation, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4233–4247, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4233-2019, 2019.
Kirillin, G., Leppäranta, M., Terzhevik, A., Granin, N., Bernhardt, J., Engelhardt, Ch., Efremova, T., Golosov, S., Palshin, N., Sherstyankin, P., Zdorovennova, G., and Zdorovennov, R.:
Physics of seasonally ice-covered lakes: a review,
Aquat. Sci.,
74, 659–682, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-012-0279-y, 2012.
Kostianoy, A. G. and Belkin, I. M.:
A survey of observations on intrathermocline eddies in the World Ocean,
Proc. 20th Int. Liege Colloq. Ocean Hydrodyn. “Mesoscale/synoptic coherent structures in geophysical turbulence”, 2–6 May 1988,
edited by: Nihoul, J. C. J. and Jamart, B. M.,
Amsterdam, Elsevier, 821–841, 1989.
Kouraev, A. V., Semovski, S. V., Shimaraev, M. N., Mognard, N. M., Legresy, B., and Remy, F.:
Ice regime of lake Baikal from historical and satellite data: Influence of thermal and dynamic factors,
Limnol. Oceanogr.,
52, 1268–1286, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2007.52.3.1268, 2007.
Kouraev, A. V., Shimaraev, M. N., Buharizin, P. I., Naumenko, M. A., Crétaux, J.-F., Mognard, N. M., Legrésy, B., and Rémy, F.:
Ice and snow cover of continental water bodies from simultaneous radar altimetry and radiometry observations,
Surv. Geophys., Thematic issue “Hydrology from space”,
29, 271–295, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-008-9042-2, 2008.
Kouraev, A. V., Zakharova, E. A., Rémy, F., and Suknev, A. Ya.:
Study of Lake Baikal ice cover from radar altimetry and in situ observations,
Mar. Geod., Special issue on SARAL/AltiKa,
38:sup1, 477–486, https://doi.org/10.1080/01490419.2015.1008155, 2015.
Kouraev, A. V., Zakharova, E. A., Rémy, F., Kostianoy, A. G., Shimaraev, M. N., Hall, N. M. J., and Suknev, A. Ya.:
Giant ice rings on Lakes Baikal and Hovsgol: inventory, associated water structure and potential formation mechanism,
Limnol. Oceanogr.,
61, 1001–1014, https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10268, 2016.
Kouraev, A. V., Zakharova, E. A., Rémy, F., Kostianoy, A. G., Shimaraev, M. N., Hall, N. M. J., and Suknev A. Ya.:
Ice cover and water dynamics in lakes Baikal and Hovsgol from satellite observations and field studies,
in: Remote Sensing of Asian Seas,
edited by: Barale, V. and Gade, M.,
Springer, Cham, 541–555, 2018.
Kouraev, A. V., Zakharova, E. A., Rémy, F., Kostianoy, A. G., Shimaraev, M. N., Hall, N. M. J., Zdorovennov, R. E., and Suknev, A. Ya.:
Giant ice rings on lakes and field observations of lens-like eddies in the Middle Baikal (2016–2017),
Limnol. Oceanogr.,
64, 2738–2754, https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11338, 2019.
Obolkina, L. A., Bondarenko, N. A., Doroshenko, L. F., Gorbunova, L. A., and Molozhavaya, O. A.:
Discovery of cryophilic community in Lake Baikal,
Doklady of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
371, 815–817, 2000 (in Russian).
Planet Team:
Planet Application Program Interface: In Space for Life on Earth,
San Francisco, CA,
available at: https://www.planet.com/ (last access: 20 September 2021), 2017.
Planet Team:
Planet Educational and research program:
https://www.planet.com/markets/education-and-research/, last access: 20 September 2021.
Powers, S. M. and Hampton, S. E.:
Winter Limnology as a New Frontier,
Limnol. Oceanogr.,
25, 103–108, 2016.
Prowse, T., Alfredsen, K., Beltaos, S., Bonsal, B. R., Bowden, W. B., Duguay, C. R., Korhola, A., McNamara, J., Vincent, W. F., Vuglinsky, V., Walter Anthony, K. M., and Weyhenmeyer, G. A.:
Effects of Changes in Arctic Lake and River Ice,
AMBIO,
40, 63–74, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-011-0217-6, 2011.
Yazeryan, G. G.:
“Remote Sensing of Earth from space in Russia” – Scientific and practical magazine,
Issue No 2, Roskosmos, 14–15, 2020.
Roujean, J.-L., Bhattacharya, B., Gamet, P., Pandya, M. R., Boulet, G., Olioso, A., Singh, S. K., Shukla, M. V., Mishra, M., Babu, S., Raju, P. V., Murthy, C. S., Briottet, X., Rodler, A., Autret, E., Dadou, I., Adlakha, D., Sarka, M., Picard, G., Kouraev, A., Ferrari, C., Irvine, M., Delogu, E., Vidal, T., Hagolle, O., Maisongrande, P., Sekhar, M., and Mallick, K.:
TRISHNA: an Indo-French space mission to study the thermography of the earth at fine spatio-temporal resolution,
Proceedings of IEEE InGARSS 2021, 6–10 December 2021, Virtual Symposium, available at: https://www.ingarss2021.com/, last access: 20 September 2021.
Rusinek, O. T., Takhteev, V. V., Gladkochub, D. P., Khodzher, T. V., and Budnev, N. M.:
Baicalogy: in 2 books, Book 1,
Nauka publishers, Novosibirsk, 468 pp., ISBN 978-5-02-019100-6, 2012 (in Russian).
Shimaraev, M. N. and Verbolov, V. I.:
Water temperature and circulation, in: Lake Baikal: Evolution and Diversity,
edited by: Kozhova, O. M. and Izmest'eva, L. R.,
Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, 26–44, 1998.
Sokol'nikov, V. M.:
Radiation properties of Lake Baikal ice and some events of ice regime in Maloye More,
Proceedings of the Baikal Limnological station, USSR Academy of Sciences,
XVII, 104–107, 1959.
Sokol'nikov, V. M.:
Vertical and horizontal shifts and deformations of the continuous Baikal ice cover (Vertikal'niye I gorizontal'niye smesheniya I deformazii sploshnogo ledyanogo pokrova Baikala),
Proceedings of the Baikal Limnological Station of the Academy of Sciences,
XVIII, 291–350, 1960 (in Russian).
Vedeneeva, N.:
Giant gaz bubble found in Lake Baikal may explode at any moment,
Moskovskiy Komsomolets, 12 May 2020,
available at: https://www.mk.ru/science/2020/05/12/ogromnyy-gazovyy-puzyr-obnaruzhennyy-v-baykale-mozhet-vzorvatsya-v-lyubuyu-minutu.html (last access: 17 March 2021), 2021 (in Russian).
Verbolov, V. I., Sokol'nikov, V. M., and Shimaraev, M. N.:
Hydrometeorological regime and heat balance of Lake Baikal (Gidrometeorologicheskiy regim i teplovoy balans oz. Baikal),
Nauka, Moscow–Leningrad, 1965 In Russian.
Vincent, W. F., Laurion, I., Pienitz, R. and Walter Anthony, K. M.:
Climate Impacts on Arctic Lake Ecosystems,
in: Climatic Change and Global Warming of Inland Waters,
edited by: Goldman, C. R., Kumagai, M., and Robarts, R. D.,
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, UK,
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118470596.ch2, 2012.
Zakharova, E., Agafonova, S., Duguay, C., Frolova, N., and Kouraev, A.: River ice phenology and thickness from satellite altimetry. Potential for ice bridge road operation, The Cryosphere Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-325, in review, 2020.
Zyryanov, V. N., Granin, N. G., Zyryanov, D. V., Chebanova, M. K., Aslamov, I. A., Gnatovsky, R. Yu., and Blinov, V. V.:
Preliminary results of the summer and winter companies 2019–2020 on Lake Baikal in the framework of the RFBR project for the study of eddies that form ice rings,
Limnology and Freshwater Biology,
SI: “The VII-th Vereshchagin Baikal Conference”,
4, 954–955, https://doi.org/10.31951/2658-3518-2020-A-4-954, 2020.
Short summary
Giant ice rings are a beautiful and puzzling natural phenomenon. Our data show that ice rings are generated by lens-like warm eddies below the ice. We use multi-satellite data to analyse lake ice cover in the presence of eddies in April 2020 in southern Baikal. Unusual changes in ice colour may be explained by the competing influences of atmosphere above and the warm eddy below the ice. Tracking ice floes also helps to estimate eddy currents and their influence on the upper water layer.
Giant ice rings are a beautiful and puzzling natural phenomenon. Our data show that ice rings...
