10 Polar SAR Data for Operational Sea Ice Mapping
231
begun to collect user requirements for an L-band LightSAR with the goal of achieving
a 1999 launch.
Challenges lie in the handling of the vast amounts of data associated with a SAR
based operation. Expensive communication links must be in place to carry images from
a global array of ground stations to the ice centers throughout the world. Ice analysts
must be trained to transition from the reasoning techniques developed for the interpretation of visible and infrared imagery to the logic required for analysis of radar
data. Due to the high volumes of SAR data expected to be available, accurate ice classification algorithms must be developed which run in a timely manner. All this must
be accomplished in a period of declining budgets for research, development and operations.
Despite these challenges, the operational ice centers have already made impressive
advances in SAR development and utilization. Cooperation among the Baltic ice centers has resulted in the hosting of compatible ice analysis workstations in Finland, Germany, and Sweden. Canada and the United States have long shared digital data over a
dedicated communications link between the two ice centers. Ice centers throughout the
world willingly share analysis charts and information, and are working toward accomplishing this in a digital environment.
Acknowledgments. The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions by Mike
Manore of the Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing to the sections on automated ice
interpretation work in Canada. We are also grateful to Klaus Striibing of the German
Ice Service, Ari Seina of the Finnish Ice Service, Shigeru Miyauchi of the Japan Meteorological Agency, Mats Moberg of the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, and Ivan Frolov of the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute for their
contributions describing operational ice support in their respective nations.
References
Banfield J (1991) Automated tracking of ice floes: a stochastic approach. IEEE Trans
Geosci Remote Sens 29, no 6: 905-911
Banfield J, Raftery A (1989) Ice floe identification in satellite images using mathematical morphology and clustering about principal curves. Dept of Mathematical Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana
Benner DA, Bertoia C (1992) Operational satellite sea ice analysis at the Navy/NOAA
joint ice center. Preprints of the 6th Conf on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography. American Meteorological Society, Atlanta, Georgia, January 5-10, pp 395-398
Bertoia C, Carrieres T (1994) Operational use of satellite data for sea ice analysis at the
US And Canadian national ice centers. Proc Int Geosci Remote Sens Symp IGARSS
'94, August 8-12, Pasadena, California, pp 1228-1230
Cavalieri DJ (1992) Sea ice algorithm in NASA sea ice validation program for the
defense meteorological satellite program special sensor microwave imager: final
report. NASA Technical Memorandum 104559, pp 25-32
Collins MJ (1992) Information fusion in sea ice remote sensing. In: Carsey FD (ed)
Microwave remote sensing of sea ice, 478, American Geophysical Union, Washington,DC
231
begun to collect user requirements for an L-band LightSAR with the goal of achieving
a 1999 launch.
Challenges lie in the handling of the vast amounts of data associated with a SAR
based operation. Expensive communication links must be in place to carry images from
a global array of ground stations to the ice centers throughout the world. Ice analysts
must be trained to transition from the reasoning techniques developed for the interpretation of visible and infrared imagery to the logic required for analysis of radar
data. Due to the high volumes of SAR data expected to be available, accurate ice classification algorithms must be developed which run in a timely manner. All this must
be accomplished in a period of declining budgets for research, development and operations.
Despite these challenges, the operational ice centers have already made impressive
advances in SAR development and utilization. Cooperation among the Baltic ice centers has resulted in the hosting of compatible ice analysis workstations in Finland, Germany, and Sweden. Canada and the United States have long shared digital data over a
dedicated communications link between the two ice centers. Ice centers throughout the
world willingly share analysis charts and information, and are working toward accomplishing this in a digital environment.
Acknowledgments. The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions by Mike
Manore of the Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing to the sections on automated ice
interpretation work in Canada. We are also grateful to Klaus Striibing of the German
Ice Service, Ari Seina of the Finnish Ice Service, Shigeru Miyauchi of the Japan Meteorological Agency, Mats Moberg of the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, and Ivan Frolov of the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute for their
contributions describing operational ice support in their respective nations.
References
Banfield J (1991) Automated tracking of ice floes: a stochastic approach. IEEE Trans
Geosci Remote Sens 29, no 6: 905-911
Banfield J, Raftery A (1989) Ice floe identification in satellite images using mathematical morphology and clustering about principal curves. Dept of Mathematical Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana
Benner DA, Bertoia C (1992) Operational satellite sea ice analysis at the Navy/NOAA
joint ice center. Preprints of the 6th Conf on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography. American Meteorological Society, Atlanta, Georgia, January 5-10, pp 395-398
Bertoia C, Carrieres T (1994) Operational use of satellite data for sea ice analysis at the
US And Canadian national ice centers. Proc Int Geosci Remote Sens Symp IGARSS
'94, August 8-12, Pasadena, California, pp 1228-1230
Cavalieri DJ (1992) Sea ice algorithm in NASA sea ice validation program for the
defense meteorological satellite program special sensor microwave imager: final
report. NASA Technical Memorandum 104559, pp 25-32
Collins MJ (1992) Information fusion in sea ice remote sensing. In: Carsey FD (ed)
Microwave remote sensing of sea ice, 478, American Geophysical Union, Washington,DC