2004 UC Proceedings Abstract

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Examining Sea Ice in the Southern Ocean Using ArcGIS
Track: Climate, Weather and Atmosphere
Author(s): Tracy DeLiberty, Cathleen Geiger, Mary Lemcke

A National Science Foundation project is underway with researchers at the University of Delaware, the Australian Antarctic Division, the National Ice Center and Clarkson University to evaluate two datasets--in situ (point) sea ice thickness observations and weekly ice charts (polygon)--to ascertain their quality for use in monitoring sea ice thickness and mass balance changes in the Southern Ocean. Sea-ice thickness calculations from both datasets are temporally joined to match spatially averaged in situ observations with their respective NIC ice chart, polygon data. The uncertainties of total ice thickness for both in situ observations and NIC ice charts are propagated through the calculations. A composite product of the two datasets and their error estimates is being developed for monitoring sea-ice mass balance and validation fields for climate modeling. ArcGIS and Visual Basic are used for the analysis and data processing over the five year period of study.

Tracy DeLiberty
University of Delaware
Department of Geography
Department of Geography, University of Delaware
Newark , DE 19716
US
Phone: 302-831-4084
E-mail: tracyd@udel.edu

Cathleen Geiger
USACRREL
72 Lyme Road
Hanover , NH 03755
US
Phone: 603-646-4851
Fax: 603-646-4644
E-mail: cathleen.a.geiger@erdc.usace.army.mil

Mary Lemcke
University of Delaware
Department of Geography
216 Pearson Hall
Newark , DE 19716
US
Phone: 302-831-2294
Fax: 302-831-6654
E-mail: bigmar@udel.edu