Comparison of open water and thin ice areas derived from satellite passive microwave data with aircraft measurements and satellite infrared data in the Bering Sea

For enhanced accuracy in the determination of heat fluxes in the polar regions, estimates of ice thickness are necessary. Only passive microwave sensors provide daily global surface information, but ice thickness is not directly measurable from this data source. Nevertheless, different ice types, associated with a certain thickness, are distinguishable resulting from different emissivities. Two methods using SSM/I data for this discrimination are compared with satellite infrared data and aircraft measurements. The SSM/I results are in good agreement with those data. Therefore, either method should greatly improve heat flux calculations.