I. SEA ICE MISSION REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY 



Report Based on Bilateral Ice Study Team Workshop 

 Cornwall, Ontario 

 February 11-13, 1981 



The Seasat data set established the potential of Synthetic Aperture Radar 

 (SAR) data for application to research problems in sea-ice science and 

 operations. The basic utility of SAR is in locating, identifying, and 

 tracking ice features of importance in a wide variety of scientific and 

 engineering problems. Subsequent analysis has shown that an even more 

 powerful sea-ice surveillance tool would result from supplementing SAR with 

 an areal-integral measurement technique such as scatterometry, microwave 

 radiometry, or both, and combining these data with meteorological and 

 oceanographic data collected by satellite-monitored buoys. Clearly, a highly 

 productive sea-ice science research mission can be defined for a satellite so 

 instrumented, provided that a suitably designed research program commences 

 prior to launch. In order to design such a mission, Canadian RADARSAT and 

 NASA FIREX (Free-Flying Imaging Radar Experiment) study teams were set up to 

 examine the research problems such a bilaterally supported mission could 

 address, and to determine the mission requirements indicated to assure good 

 progress on those problems. This document discusses some significant research 

 problems associated with ice-covered seas, the consequent mission 

 requirements, and the recommended satellite instrumentation. 



Research questions requiring SAR information are divided into two broad 

 classifications: science problems and operational problems, with much overlap 

 and interrelationship. Science problems can be divided into (1) circulation 

 of ocean and atmosphere, (2) climatology, and (3) the response of sea ice as a 

 material. Operational problems can be divided into (1) fixed-installation 

 design, (2) navigation, and (3) offshore activities. Simulation of 

 operational application of SAR is recommended as a necessary step in the 

 transition of SAR from a finely focused research tool to an operational tool; 

 here the similarities to the Landsat program are obvious. Progress on the 

 operational and science research problems requires SAR and ancillary satellite 

 data, buoy data, improved knowledge of microwave properties of sea ice, and 

 prelaunch pilot studies using Seasat, aircraft, or Shuttle data. An efficient 

 means of production and an effective means of communicating the results to 

 remote sites are also needed. All research and simulation activities call 

 for an image-format presentation of a variety of ice types and features; 

 however, some differences exist among activities as to required resolution and 

 repetition or coverage. All activities either require or would profit by buoy 

 data products, including measurements of the geostrophic wind vector and air 

 temperature. Table 1 summarizes the operational and science information 

 requirements. 



The program required consists of (1) the instrumented satellite with 

 attendant ground and data-processing systems, (2) an information dissemination 

 system capable of relays to remote points, (3) a data buoy monitoring system, 

 (4) data supplementation and verification by aircraft, ship, and fixed 



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