Icebergs

Abstract

The last few decades have witnessed remarkable improvements in the ability of satellite-borne sensors to detect, track, and measure icebergs of wide size range. The earliest capability was limited to detecting large Antarctic icebergs in favorable weather and light conditions. Now, numerous sensors, many unencumbered by weather and light conditions, are used in both hemispheres to track icebergs as small as a few tens of meters. An enormous increase in the amount of available data, particularly from SARs, has led to the development of automated image-analysis techniques to detect icebergs. While many of these systems have proven successful, it is widely agreed that the human analyst cannot yet be removed entirely from the process. In addition, there is still much work to be done comparing remotely sensed data with surface observations. Finally, it is likely that human activity in ice-populated waters will increase due to resource exploitation in the ice-diminishing Arctic and growing public interest in ecotour-ism. This will create new challenges for many of the world’s operational ice centers. Today, 20 countries (World Meteorological Organization, 2006) have organizations that provide ice services. Their success at meeting future demands hinges on the effective and efficient use of remotely sensed data.