Iceberg Observations in the Barents Sea by Radar and Optical Satellite Images

Studies of iceberg detection in the Franz Josef land region have been performed by use of optical images in combination with and Synthetic Aperture Radar images during April 2006. Alternating Polarization (AP) images (HHand VV-pol) from ASAR and RADARSAT ScanSAR Narrow images were tested against Landsat images for identification of 15 icebergs of size between 50 and 400 m. The three types of SAR images had fairly similar capability to detect these icebergs, with the HH-pol from ASAR showing the most reliable results. The ScanSAR Narrow image failed to observe the smallest icebergs of size around 50 m. The icebergs were located in fastice with relatively homogeneous backscatter which was favourable for iceberg detection. The studies showed that combined use of optical and SAR images for iceberg detection gives better results compared to previous studies where SAR and optical images were used separately.