New Satellite Technology Gives Reliable Year-Round Measurements for Arctic Sea Ice Thickness

Nature, 14 September 2022

For the first time, researchers can precisely monitor the thickness of sea ice during every month of the year – even in the summer melt period, which will improve navigation and safety across the Arctic. Previous measurements of sea ice thickness were unavailable during summer as satellite struggled to differentiate between the ocean and large ponds of meltwater on the surface of sea ice. This study overcomes these limitations by combining artificial intelligence with satellite data to create reliable “deep learning” software that takes more accurate measurements of sea ice thickness year-round. As temperatures rise in the Arctic four times faster than the global average, reliable data on sea ice thickness will improve human safety across the Arctic. Summer sea ice cover has decreased by 13% per decade; this year’s summer minimum was likely reached on September 18, and tied for the 10th-lowest on record. This ability to closely track changes in sea thickness increases will improve predictions of how sea ice will respond to future warming.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05058-5