The dataset was put together from ESA satellite observations

Mar 14, 2012 09:52 GMT  ·  By
Sample product of average monthly sea ice drift velocity over the Arctic using data from ESA’s Envisat mission
   Sample product of average monthly sea ice drift velocity over the Arctic using data from ESA’s Envisat mission

As part of more complex investigations aimed at understanding how climate change occurs, scientists have recently produced a new ice displacement map for the Arctic. The product shows how fast ice moved between 2004 and 2011, and which were the preferred directions for these motions.

In order to compile this map, scientists used archived radar data from the ESA Envisat and European Remote Sensing (ERS) missions. They explain that sea ice motions are extremely important for the control of a wide array of planetary climate parameters.

For example, ice movement patterns influence deep-water formation, ocean convection patterns and the way in which the atmosphere interacts with the ocean. In turn, these interactions are what drive oceanic currents across the planet.

The Arctic is an especially important ice field, primarily because of the large number of currents that pass through it, or in its immediate vicinity. The Gulf Stream in the northern sector of the Atlantic is a perfect example of a critically-important oceanic current that is prone to influences from Arctic ices.

The new radar dataset was developed by researchers with the GlobIce project, a €1 million initiative that began in 2005. The international consortium behind the work is led by scientists at the University College London (UCL), in the UK.

In addition to studying sea ice motions, the project also surveys ice deformation and flux. All data it collects are then used to refine existing climate models. These simulations should then be used by policymakers to prevent global warming, but progress in that direction has been slow.

GlobIce is itself conducted in support of the Climate and Cryosphere project of the World Climate Research Program (WCRP). “The data which the GlobIce system can provide is essential to understanding the dynamics of the rapidly changing sea ice cover in the Arctic,” says Dr. Seymour Laxon.

“GlobIce can also be used to interpret other critical data, such as the ice thickness measurements now being provided by CryoSat,” the expert adds. Laxon is a GlobIce project scientist from the UCL Center for Polar Observation and Modeling.

“The increasing complexity and resolution of climate models lead to a demand for comprehensive datasets against which to test them. With GlobIce, we finally have a sea ice dataset which will endure and provide for model evaluation now and in years to come,” UK Met Office climate scientist Dr. Jeff Ridley explains.