Information on sea ice and icebergs is important for managing operation of ships or offshore platforms in hazardous sea ice conditions. EO technologies give the possibility to study sea ice and measure its thickness, spatial distribution, motion and ridges (as well as ice berg positions). Satellite imagery provides wide area, synoptic pictures of the ice conditions. Since the scale of ice fields is quite large, mainly moderate resolutions have to be accepted, down to around 10m in scale, while ensuring comprehensive coverage. Multispectral imagery can provide more information on ice-type but in the main, SAR imagery is used due to its all-weather and day/night capability. The data collected can be more accurate than in-situ measurements due to a higher and faster coverage of a whole area. Subsequent modelling that incorporates ocean weather (wind, waves, ocean current) provides expected drifting paths. Constant monitoring is most important to identify the risk and opportunities, for instance for ship routing, and safety of oil rigs.
Identify sea-ice or icebergs using EO data
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