In the Kara Sea region ice monitoring using SAR images from ERS-1 has been demonstrated to assist Russian icebreakers in ice navigation. SAR images have been obtained in some of the important sailing areas and sent out to icebreakers by telefax. Sea transportation on the Yenisei river occurs throughout the year although the river is ice-covered for more than half of the year. The ERS-1 SAR image mosaic above is from the mouth of Yenisei river shows the ice condition on 18, 21 and 23 March 1994 (see the location of the SAR image ). The track in the ice made by icebreakers going up the river to the ports in Dudinka and Igarka is clearly shown in the image (see arrows).
The SAR image also shows individual ice floes and areas of thin ice which is only a few days old.

NERSC, Bergen, Norway

Keywords: ESA European Space Agency - Agence spatiale europeenne, observation de la terre, earth observation, satellite remote sensing, teledetection, geophysique, altimetrie, radar, chimique atmospherique, geophysics, altimetry, radar, atmospheric chemistry