Development of an Airborne Sea Ice Thickness Measurement System and Field Test Results
Abstract
Recent efforts to improve airborne electromagnetic induction- measurement technology and to downsize the related helicopter-towed antenna assembly from about 7.5 m long to about 3.5 m long for use in airborne measurement of sea ice thickness are discussed, as are the results from arctic field testing. Also outlined are the system noise and drift problems encountered during arctic field evaluation, problems that adversely affected the quality of the sounding data. The sea ice sounding results indicate that it should be possible to determine thickness to within 5% for ice floes with moderate relief but that, because of sounding footprint size and current model algorithm constraints, steepsided pressure ridge keels cannot be well defined. The findings also indicate that routine sea ice thickness profiling from an airborne platform is close at hand with further system improvement, as is the apparent capability to determine the conductivity of the sea ice, from which an assessment of sea ice strength can be made. Keywords: Airborne profiling; Electromagnetic induction measurement technology; Sea ice thickness.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA224867
Entities
People
- Austin Kovacs
- J. S. Holladay
Organizations
- Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory