Mapping sea ice roughness for Inuit Nunangat communities using synthetic aperture radar (SAR)

Travelling on ice is central to Inuit well-being, identity and culture. Rough sea ice can pose as a hazard, or impediment to travel. Currently, regular, quality, high-resolution information is difficult to obtain from satellite instruments, but synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has shown potential in all these aspects. In this project, the intern will analyse the relationship between data from RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) and Sentinel-1 SAR and roughness information obtained by the ICESat-2 instrument. Based on these relationships, a model will be developed to produce maps of sea ice roughness from SAR imagery. After testing and validating the model with independent data, a pipeline to produce regular maps of ice roughness adjacent to Inuit Nunangat communities will be developed. These maps will be distributed to Nunangat communities through SMARTICE’s web platform.

Faculty Supervisor:

Randall Scharien

Student:

Partner:

SmartICE Inc

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Victoria

Program: