Validation of a high-resolution (400m) SAR motion tracking system using GPS buoys near the APLIS07 Ice Camp

One important benefit of a motion analysis system during the international polar year field season is to help field scientist plan instrumentation deployment strategies based on the local to large-scale field dynamics taking place. In this regard, discontinuities in sea ice (i.e., crack, leads, ridges, etc) create difficulties when tracking sea ice motion and analyzing the kinematics and dynamics, especially with regard to buoy placement in the field. Most sea ice motion tracking systems either track individual floes or track at a relatively low resolution (5-10km) where sea ice can be regarded as a continuum. A recently developed sea ice tracking system seeks to overcome this problem by tracking and isolating discontinuities during the motion analysis process. The result is a tracking system with a resolution as high as 400m (one order of magnitude greater than the standard product) including the demarcation of discontinuities. In this presentation we will show results from a comparison of 56 RADARSAT-1 level 1 images taken over the APLIS07 ice camp in the Beaufort Sea during the Spring of 2007. The APLIS camp was surrounded by nested arrays of GPS buoys including one hexagonal array with a 10km radius, a second hexagon with a 70km radius, and a third array along the edges of a pronounced shear zone. Results will be presented on the analysis system and the comparison between these GPS buoys and this SAR motion tracking system.