On the seasonal evolution of thermophysical drivers and passive microwave emissions on first-year sea ice

The present research focuses on coupling thermophysical variables over smooth landfast first-year sea ice with its microwave emissions. A surface based radiometer (SBR) was used to collect microwave emissions on 19-, 37- and 85 GHz, both vertical and horizontal polarizations over a fixed area. Data were collected during the Collaborative-Interdisciplinary Cryospheric Experiment (C-ICE) between May 15 and June 25, 2000, in the Canadian High Arctic. It expands from winter-like ice environment to advanced melt. Analysis was conducted in a seasonal basis taking into consideration observed changes in the physical characteristics of the sea-ice. Winter was represented by thick, stable, snow-covered sea-ice, followed by three melt-pond stages: ablation 1, ablation 2/3, and ablation 4, following the characterization described in Yackel (2001).