High-resolution mapping of circum-Antarctic landfast sea ice distribution, 2000-2018.

Landfast sea ice (fast ice) is an important component of the Antarctic nearshore marine environment, where it strongly modulates ice sheet-ocean-atmosphere interactions and biological and biogeochemical processes, forms a key habitat, and affects logistical operations. Given the wide-ranging importance of Antarctic fast ice and its sensitivity to climate change, improved knowledge of its distribution (and change and variability therein) is a high priority. Antarctic fast-ice mapping to date has been limited to regional studies and a time series covering East Antarctica from 2000 to 2008. Here, we present the first continuous, high spatiotemporal resolution (1 km, 15 day) time series of circum-Antarctic fast ice extent; this covers the period March 2000 to March 2018, with future updates planned. This dataset was derived by compositing cloud-free satellite visible-thermal infrared imagery using an existing methodology, modified to enhance automation and reduce subjectivity in defining the fast ice edge. This ground-breaking new dataset (Fraser et al., 2020) has wide applicability, and is available at https://doi.org/10.26179/5d267d1ceb60c. The new algorithm presented here will enable continuous large-scale fast ice mapping and monitoring into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]