Melt pond coverage statistics from classified satellite data

Melt pond development over one summer in the Beaufort Sea was monitored with high resolution satellite data. These data resolve individual melt ponds, and were used to obtain pond coverage measurements for ice floes. If pond coverage is known, floe albedo can be estimated. Pond coverage ranged from 30 to 40% at the beginning of melt to about 15% at freezeup. The range in coverage from floe to floe on any day was about 10%.