Variability in sea-ice coverage and ice-motion dynamics in the PAL LTER study region west of the Antarctic Peninsula

Sea-ice conditions and kinematics are studied in the Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research (PAL LTER) study region west of the Antarctic Peninsula. Remote sensing data from ERS-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and Scatterometer (EScat) and from DMSP SSM/I, are used to study the influence of synoptic weather systems on sea-ice characteristics during July-August 1992. Weather records from Palmer Station (64/spl deg/ 46'S, 64/spl deg/ 03'W) on Anvers Island show large cyclonic storms moving through the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region on a quasi-weekly basis. Periods of strong north-westerly to north-easterly winds caused above normal air temperatures and in turn a rapid early retreat of the sea-ice cover in the WAP region. Ice motion derived from SSM/I images reveals the large-scale sea-ice kinematics during these periods together with statistical summaries of the impact of each storm upon regional opening/closing.