Acquisition of Ice Thickness and Ice Surface Characteristics in the Seasonal Ice Zone by CULPIS-X during the US Coast Guard's Arctic Domain Awareness Program

Abstract : LONG-TERM GOALS: *Teaming with the SIZRS effort (J. Morrison, Univ. Washington; PI) to: --Investigate new technologies, e.g., sensors, platforms and communications, for sustained operation and observation in the challenging Arctic environment --Improve understanding of the physical environment and processes in the Arctic Ocean OBJECTIVES: *What is the volume of sea ice in the Beaufort Sea SIZ and how does this evolve during summer as the ice edge retreats? Recent observations suggest that the remaining ice in the Beaufort Sea is younger and thinner in recent years in part because even the oldest ice advected into the region does not survive the summer. *How does ice thickness relate to ice surface conditions, such as reflectance and ice surface temperature? During summer, melting ice is covered extensively by melt ponds, which exhibit a reflectance considerably lower than the surrounding ice. Recent analyses have indicated that ponds on thinner ice are often darker, accelerating the ice-albedo feedback over thin ice in summer. During winter, leads and very thin ice are centers for ocean-atmosphere heat flux, so their fractional coverage and contribution to the surface-to-atmosphere heat flux need to be quantified.