Improved Arctic Sea Ice Freeboard Retrieval From Satellite Altimetry Using Optimized Sea Surface Decorrelation Scales

A growing number of studies are concluding that the resilience Arctic sea ice cover in a warming climate is essentially controlled by its thickness. Satellite radar and laser altimeters have allowed us to routinely monitor thickness across most Ocean for several decades. However, key uncertainty remaining retrieval error on surface height (SSH) which conventionally interpolated at floes from limited lead observations along altimeter's orbital track. Here, we use an objective mapping approach determine all proximal samples located track adjacent tracks within neighborhood 30–220 (mean 105) km. The patterns SSH signal's zonal, meridional, temporal decorrelation length scales obtained analyzing covariance historic CryoSat-2 observations, match equivalent analysis high-resolution ice-ocean model fields. We these optimal estimate each floe location. By exploiting leads tracks, can increase freeboard precision estimated crossovers up 20%. In regions high uncertainty, biases be reduced 25% with respect coincident airborne validation data. new method not restricted particular sensor or mode, so it generalized present polar altimetry missions.