Operational Implementation of Sea Ice Concentration Estimates From the AMSR2 Sensor An operational implementation of sea ice concentration estimates from the AMSR2 sensor IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing

An operation implementation of a passive microwave sea ice concentration algorithm to support NOAA's operational mission is presented. The NASA team 2 algorithm, previously developed for the NASA advanced microwave scanning radiometer for the Earth observing system (AMSR-E) product suite, is adapted for operational use with the JAXA AMSR2 sensor through several enhancements. First, the algorithm is modified to process individual swaths and provide concentration from the most recent swaths instead of a 24-hour average. A latency (time since observation) field and a 24-hour concentration range (maximum-minimum) are included to provide indications of data timeliness and variability. Concentration from the Bootstrap algorithm is a secondary field to provide complementary sea ice information. A quality flag is implemented to provide information on interpolation, filtering, and other quality control steps. The AMSR2 concentration fields are compared with a different AMSR2 passive microwave product, and then validated via comparison with sea ice concentration from the Suomi visible and infrared imaging radiometer suite. This validation indicates the AMSR2 concentrations have a bias of 3.9% and an RMSE of 11.0% in the Arctic, and a bias of 4.45% and RMSE of 8.8% in the Antarctic. In most cases, the NOAA operational requirements for accuracy are met. However, in low-concentration regimes, such as during melt and near the ice edge, errors are higher because of the limitations of passive microwave sensors and the algorithm retrieval. Funding from Fundref ID: 10.13039/100000192 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Joint Polar Satellite System program Includes Awards from NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Climate Program Office (NOAA OAR Climate Program): Award no. A10OAR4310088 Includes Awards from NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) NOAA NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NOAA NEFSC): EcoMon Plankton 100m3 - Award no. unknown EcoMon Zooplankton NOAA NEFSC EcoMon Plankton 10m2 - Award no. unknown EcoMon Zooplankton NOAA NEFSC hydrodata - Award no. unknown Hydrography NOAA NEFSC