Intercomparison of Arctic Sea Ice Backscatter and Ice Type Classification Using Ku-Band and C-Band Scatterometers

As a result of global warming, multiyear ice (MYI) is being replaced by first-year ice (FYI) in the Arctic. Microwave scatterometers in the Ku-band and C-band can provide daily observations of sea ice type. However, their comparative capabilities in mapping ice type have not been thoroughly evaluated. We present a systematic intercomparison of the backscatter signature in VV polarization ( ${\sigma }_{\mathrm {vv}}^{\mathrm {o}}$ ) and the sea ice classification from three scatterometer systems using the same ice classification approach. The systems are the Ku-band quick scatterometer (QSCAT) and the newly launched Chinese rotating fan-beam scatterometer (RFSCAT) and the C-band advanced scatterometer (ASCAT). Three freezing seasons are used, i.e., 2007/08 and 2008/09 for the QSCAT/ASCAT comparison and 2019/20 for the RFSCAT/ASCAT comparison. With reference to ASCAT, ${\sigma }_{\mathrm {vv}}^{\mathrm {o}}$ bias between QSCAT and RFSCAT results from their different incidence angles. A continuous declining trend of ${\sigma }_{\mathrm {vv}}^{\mathrm {o}}$ from MYI and FYI is observed during winter, with a greater difference between MYI and FYI in the Ku-band. The MYI and FYI extent derived from QSCAT/RFSCAT is highly consistent with that derived from ASCAT, with a difference less than 7% and 3% for MYI and FYI, respectively. The overall accuracy (OA) is around 77% and 80% for the RFSCAT results and ASCAT results, respectively, compared with Sentinel-1 SAR images. The classification results show high consistency (81%–89%) with ice charts from the Canadian Ice Service. The incorporation of ${\mathrm {Tb}}_{36\mathrm {h}}$ from AMSR-E/AMSR2 improves the OA of the classification when using ASCAT or RFSCAT by 7%–11%.