[22-Feb-2024] Pacini, A., Steele, M., and Schreck, M.-B.
Presented at the 2024 Ocean Sciences MeetingThere are many challenges associated with obtaining high-fidelity sea ice concentration (SIC) information, and products that rely solely on passive microwave measurements often struggle to represent conditions at low concentration, especially within the Marginal Ice Zone and during periods of active melt. Here, we present a SIC product for the Alaskan Arctic generated by the National Weather Service Alaska Sea Ice Program (hereafter referred to as ASIP) that digitally synthesizes a variety of satellite SIC and in-situ observations from 2007-present. These SIC fields have been primarily used for operational purposes and have not yet been gridded nor independently validated. In this study, we first grid the ASIP product onto a 0.05° grid. We then perform extensive intercomparison with an international data base of ship-based in situ SIC observations, supplemented with observations from moorings, saildrones, and ship's radar. Additionally, an intercomparison between three ice products is performed: ASIP, a high resolution passive microwave product (AMSR2), and an operational product available from the National Snow and Ice Data Center that originates at the National Ice Center (MASIE). This intercomparison demonstrates that ASIP outperforms the other products during periods of active melt and in low SIC regions. We find that the ASIP ice edge is generally farther south than both the AMSR2 and MASIE ice edges, by an average of approximately 55 km in the winter and 160 km in summer.