An intercomparison of Arctic ice drift products to deduce uncertainty estimates



We made an intercomparison of four low-resolution remotely sensed ice-drift products in the Arctic Ocean (ice drift products from OSISAF, CERSAT, Kimura et al., 2013 and NSIDC). The purpose of the study is to examine the uncertainty in space and time of these different drift products. The ice drifts were also compared with available buoy data. Based on the intercomparison of the products and comparison with buoy data, we estimated uncertainties of the monthly mean drift. The estimated uncertainty maps reflect the difference between the products in relation to ice concentration and the bias from the buoy drift in relation to drift speed. These uncertainties should be taken into account if these products are used, particularly for model validation and data assimilation within the Arctic.


