DEVELOPMENT OF AN IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD FOR SEA ICE TYPE IN ARCTIC OCEAN

Abstract

 In this study, an image processing method is proposed for classifying the sea ice condition as open water, thin ice, first-year ice, and old ice using the downward-looking camera images obtained from the ship-borne optical camera in the Arctic Ocean during late summer and early autumn. Additionally, we discuss the versatility and validity of this method in the major regions of the Arctic Ocean for observing the sea ice condition in the future. Open water is identified based on the average level of the red channel, whereas the thin ice and thick (first-year or old) ice types are identified based on the average hue. Further, the differences between the red and blue levels and between the green and blue levels can be used to distinguish between the first-year ice and old ice. This method exhibits a high concordance rate for old ice and a low concordance rate for first-year ice and thin ice.