Sea ice drift tracking in the Bohai Sea using geostationary ocean color imagery

The Bohai Sea is located in the middle latitude region, which is an important economic development zone in China. However, sea ice drift causes significant economic losses in the winter. Sea ice drifting is difficult to track due to the long satellite repeat cycles in the polar region and the rapid changes in the Bohai Sea ice. The unique characteristics of the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) allow tracking of sea ice drift on a daily basis with the use of 1-h time interval images (eight images per day). This study employed the GOCI data for daily 1-h sea ice drift tracking in the Bohai Sea using a maximum cross-correlation method. Sea ice drift monitoring is accomplished by tracking the distinct characteristics of sea ice samples. The sea ice drift tracking derived from the GOCI images are validated by the in-situ data and historical data in Liaodong Bay. In addition, sea ice drift in the Bohai Sea is controlled by the surface current and wind, and the current-ice drag coefficient and wind-ice drag coefficient are 0.91 and 0.03, respectively, roughly corresponding to 2.55% of the surface wind speed. (C) 2014 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)