Development of a prototype operational NOAA sea ice concentration product from AMSR2

The AMSR2 passive microwave sensor on the JAXA GCOM-W1 platform is particularly beneficial for large-scale monitoring of sea ice concentration and extent due to its all-sky capabilities and nearly complete daily coverage of the polar regions. The AMSR2 passive microwave sensor provides a continuation and enhancement on the improved capabilities of the AMSR-E sensor over the DMSP series of SSM/I and SSMIS sensors. Along with better instrumentation, AMSR2 provides improved spatial resolution, allowing gridded sea ice products to be produced at 10 km resolution (compared to 12.5 km for AMSR-E and 25 km for SSM/I-SSMIS). The 10 km resolution meets the target of many observational standards, such as those established by GCOS. A prototype concentration algorithm is presented that combines estimates from the two heritage AMSR-E sea ice concentration products: the NASA Team 2 and the Bootstrap. In contrast to other AMSR-E and AMSR2 sea ice products, an explicit error estimate for each grid cell and a multiyear ice fraction parameter will be included. Processing will be implemented to update in real-time as NOAA receives input brightness temperature granules. After development is completed, the prototype algorithm will be provided to NOAA to support their operational objectives.