River ice conditions determined from ERS-1 SAR

CRREL has received digital data for 15 European Space Agency (WSA) European Remote Sensing (ERS) Satellite-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of the St. Marys, Connecticut and White Rivers, acquired from 16 December 1992 to 5 May 1993. Satellite-borne SARs such as those onboard ERS-1 acquire radar image data in all weather conditions and at night. Data for four of the 15 images have been processed to determine ice conditions on the rivers as detected by this satellite-borne SAR. Extensive data bases of past ice conditions on the rivers, ground observations, ice thickness measurements and low-altitude aerial photographs collected during or within three days of ERS-1 overpasses were used to evaluate SAR image patterns resulting from the river ice on the four images. The preliminary results of the evaluations suggest that satellite-borne SARs will provide data on river ice conditions that are necessary for navigating through ice and evaluating the potential for river ice jams and ice erosion along shorelines.