The Use of ERS-SAR and NOAA-AVHRR Data to Determine the Variation of Fast Ice in Eastern Baffin Bay

Hansen, K.Q.		Danish Meteorological Institute, Lyngbyvej 100, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark Tel. (+45)39157344, Fax. (+45)39157300, email:kqh@dmi.dk
Gill, R.S		Danish Meteorological Institute, Lyngbyvej 100, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark Tel. (+45)39157342, Fax. (+45)39157300, email:rsg@dmi.dk

Abstract

The occurrence of sea ice is the most important limiting factor for ship based activities for oil and gas explorations, in eastern Baffin Bay (75 N,63 W). To expand the operation time for offshore activities it has been suggested that stationary field operations could be carried out on top of fast ice formations in late winter. Satellite imagery and reports from the local area indicate that almost every year fast ice can be present up to 150 km from the Greenland coast in the last half of the winter. This paper focus on the stability and possible causes of fast ice break-up based on ERS-SAR, NOAA-AVHRR imagery and output from weather models. Four case studies for the years 1993-96 were investigated; two were based on ERS-1 SAR and the other two were based on NOAA-AVHRR to determine whether oil and gas explorations in eastern Baffin Bay can be initiated from fast ice platforms. The investigation is a part of the pilot project PP2-DK2-AO2 and has shown that the extend of fast ice is closely related to tracks and intensity of atmospheric pressure lows affecting the Baffin Bay area and that stable late winter fast ice can only be expected to be present up to about 40 km from the Greenland coast.

Keywords: ERS-1 SAR, NOAA-AVHRR, Baffin Bay, Fast Ice Break Up

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