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Bottomfast Ice Mapping and the Measurement of Ice Thickness on Tundra Lakes Using C‐Band Synthetic Aperture Radar Remote Sensing 1
Author(s) -
Hirose T.,
Kapfer M.,
Bennett J.,
Cott P.,
Manson G.,
Solomon S.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2007.00161.x
Subject(s) - synthetic aperture radar , bathymetry , remote sensing , overwintering , environmental science , tundra , oceanography , habitat , geology , shelf ice , arctic , hydrology (agriculture) , sea ice , ice shelf , cryosphere , ecology , geotechnical engineering , biology
Industrial activity in Canada’s north is increasing, placing demands on the use of water from lakes to build ice roads. Winter water withdrawal from these lakes has the potential to impact overwintering fish. Removal of water from small lakes can decrease oxygen and habitat available to fish. To address this issue, a protocol has been developed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans outlining water withdrawal thresholds. Bathymetric surveys are the traditional method to determine lake depth, but are costly given the remoteness of northern lakes. This paper investigates the use of satellite C‐band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing technology as a potential alternative or complement to traditional survey methods. Previous research has shown that a SAR can detect the transition from grounded to floating ice on lakes, or if a lake is completely frozen. Grounded ice has a dark signature while floating ice appears very bright in contrast. Similar results were observed for the datasets acquired in the study area. This suggests that lakes that freeze completely to the bottom can be identified using SAR. Such water bodies would not be viable fish overwintering habitat and can therefore be used as water sources without thresholds necessary. However, attempts to accurately calculate the depth of the ice at the grounded‐floating ice boundary using bathymetric profiles acquired in the summer and lake ice thickness measurements from a reference lake near Inuvik proved to be unreliable.