Spatial and temporal observations of summer ice melt using ERS-1 SAR imagery

This study examines the spatial and temporal character of ice melt. Using ERS-1 SAR imagery, the authors examine the development of small floes formed by melt and deformation, and changes in the fraction of open water, small floes and larger floes. They also examine the spatial variations in melt from the marginal ice zone up into the central Arctic ice pack. Results will provide initial estimates of the variation of melt rates and the relative importance of vertical and horizontal melt rates both spatially and temporally