Sea Ice Floe Size Distribution Observations – First Results from the Sea State Campaign 2015

The forcing from waves and wind can alter the sea ice morphology and resulting floe size distribution in sea ice. This forcing and the resulting impact on sea ice is expected to be altered by the thinning sea ice cover along with the presence of increasing open water and resultant changing ocean sea state currently found in the present day Arctic Ocean. This study will present preliminary results of floe size distributions and related ice conditions derived from multiple remote sensing data sets collected during the ONR Sea State and Boundary Layer Physics 2015 Arctic campaign. The remote sensing data includes radar and optical imagery collected by both satellites and aircraft, as well as ship-based imagery. The study will focus on changes that may result from forcing events found during the campaign as well as the impact on floe size distribution using remote sensing data with varying spatial resolutions.