VALIDATION OF AMSR-E ICE CONCENTRATION & THICKNESS IN THE OKHOTSK SEA
The data from aircraft and ship campaigns in February 2003 in conjunction with high resolution satellite images for validating sea ice concentrations and thickness derived from AMSR-E brightness temperatures are presented. Patrol Vessel "SOYA" conducted time series observations of sea ice parameters such as ice type, floe size, snow thickness, density, grain size on sea ice and ice surface temperature, and salinity. Surface data by ship were used to interpret aircraft microwave (PSR) and visible channel data obtained by the high resolution Landsat-7 and MODIS images. The latter data were utilized to interpret the ice concentration derived from AMSR-E. The co-registered images of aircraft PSR, Landsat-7 and MODIS data exhibit good coherence in signatures. In highly consolidated ice cover, the ice concentrations were in good agreement within 5 to 10% in ice concentration. However, in highly divergent areas, the derived ice concentration has a negative bias due to the dominant presence of new ice. The new ice has relatively lower emmissivity than first year ice which is snow cover and is affected with waves and wetness by flooding. The relationship between the thickness and brightness temperature of sea ice was obtained in detail