The SIMS Project: 
The Study of Sea Ice as an Indicator of Climate Change and Variability 
David G. Barber, Joseph M. Piwowar, Douglas D. Johnson, Ellsworth F. LeDrew 
Earth Observations Laboratory, Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science, 
Department of Geography, University of Waterloo, 
Waterloo, Ont. N2L 3G1 CANADA 
ABSTRACT 
The Earth Observations Laboratory at the University of Waterloo has developed a Sea Ice Monitoring Site (SIMS) in Lancaster Sound, N.W. T. 
Within the projected five year term of this project the primary goal is to develop the ability to link Sea Ice parameters with atmospheric 
variables which are required for the measurement and monitoring of climate change and variability. 
In this paper we report on the science issues and methodologies which will be employed to utilize historical ice information coupled with 
remote sensing data, for the measurement and monitoring of climate change and variability. As a cooperative venture with the Atmospheric 
Environment Service of Environment Canada, we have developed a technique to import historical ice map information through an optical 
scanning process into a spatial analysis system. These data are then coupled with classifications of Sea Ice derived from aerial and orbital 
Synthetic Aperture Radars (e.g.. ERS-1; Radarsat; Challenger SAR). 
The major science issues of interest include descriptions of: the type and range of geophysical parameters that can be extracted from SAR 
imagery; the use of synergistic remote sensing data (i.e., Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), thermal, multispectral, and passive microwave) to 
characterize the surface radiation components of the atmosphere-cryosphere-hydrosphere interface; and the integration of remote sensing and 
historical ice chart data for the extraction of information relevant to climatic change. In situ surface radiation measurements, and Sea Ice 
geophysical measurements collected during LIMEX (Labrador Ice Margin Experiment) '89 and coupled with our SIMS field project provide the 
data required to link ice variables to atmospheric state variables, and provide insights into how Sea Ice can be used as an early indicator of 
climate change. 
Key Words: Atmosphere-cryosphere-hydrosphere interaction, digital image analysis, Lancaster Sound, Synthetic Aperture Radar, Sea Ice 
Monitoring Site, Sea Ice Information System. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
A key program element in the International Geosphere-Biosphere 
Programme (IGBP) is "Arctic Interactions" - the title of a joint 
Canadian-United States planning document sponsored by the Royal 
Society of Canada and the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research 
(UCAR, 1988). Several themes reflecting the pervasive linkages 
through the physical and biological components of the planet 
system have been identified as foci for coordinated international 
research over the coming decades. One includes the atmosphere- 
cryosphere-hydrosphere interactions of the Arctic. The rationale is 
as follows: 
Sea ice exerts a major influence on global processes, 
especially on the earth's radiation balance and on the 
formation of oceanic bottom water and thus on the 
circulation of the global atmosphere-ocean system. Sea ice 
is sensitive to climate, and the greatest changes due to 
greenhouse effects, according to numerical modelling are 
predicted to be in the arctic sea-ice regions. Yet the 
coupled interactions between ocean, atmosphere, and sea 
ice in the Arctic are poorly understood and only crudely 
modeled. (UCAR, ibid, pp. v) 
We are now in a position to tackle these issues within a Global 
Change context because of the maturation of two critical 
technologies: we now have the capability to manipulate large data 
sets in computers with the speed necessary to model complex 
systems, and we can observe the entire planet from space in a 
synoptic and consistent manner. 
The focus of our work is the use of digital remotely sensed imagery 
in numerical models of atmosphere-cryosphere interactions in the 
Polar regions. Using inversion techniques, we may convert 
reflected or emitted radiances into parameters that can drive climate 
processes in a simulation model, or surface classes derived from the 
imagery may be used as proxy indicators of such parameters through 
calibrated transfer functions. 
The use of remotely sensed data in this manner is particularly 
important in Polar regions where traditional in situ data have not 
provided the spatial coverage required. Typically, meteorological 
stations are biased toward accessible coastal regions or we use 
platforms of opportunity such as drifting ice islands, or, more 
recently, drifting buoys. From the satellite imagery we are 
discovering and attempting to understand atmosphere-cryosphere- 
hydrosphere phenomena that could not have been imagined two 
decades ago (LeDrew, 1990). 
In this paper we describe the science objectives and the technical 
structure of a long-term monitoring site in the Canadian Arctic 
created specifically to use remotely sensed data in support of model 
simulations of atmosphere-cryosphere feedbacks and the role of 
those feedbacks in climate change and variability. 
2. THE SEA ICE MONITORING SITE 
The Sea Ice Monitoring Site (SIMS) is a five year multidisciplinary 
research project developed by the Earth Observations Laboratory of 
the Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science (ISTS/University of 
Waterloo), in co-operation with several participating agencies (Table 
1). Within SIMS, our primary objectives are to characterize the 
physical processes of atmosphere-cyrosphere-hydrosphcre 
interactions and to develop the capability to measure the pertinent 
variables using remote sensing data. Specific objectives include: 
• Characterization of the physical processes of the atmosphere- 
cyrosphere-hydrosphere interactions and feedbacks in an arctic 
floating ice regime using remotely sensed imagery; 
• Validation of the geophysical characteristics of sea ice which can 
be measured from remote sensing data; 
• Development of an understanding of how this information can be 
extracted from digital imagery; 
• Description of the changes in microwavelength signatures of sea 
ice as a function of season, scale, and wavelength; 
• Development of proxy indicators which can be used to infer 
selected atmospheric state variables over the ice/snow surface in 
different seasons; 
• Identification of the synergistic relationships between SAR and 
optical/thermal wavelength remote sensing imagers for 
characterization of ice/atmosphere related physical processes. 
The SIMS project requires development of a surface validation site 
in Lancaster Sound, Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada (Figure 
1). One trial field programme was conducted in 1990 (12 May to 7 
June). Three field programmes, corresponding to winter, summer, 
and fall ice conditions, are planned in subsequent years. The 1990 
field programme was held coincident with overflights from two 
SAR aircraft-based sensors (the X-band ICEC Challenger SAR, 
contracted from Intera Technologies; the X-and C-band CCRS 
Convair-580). Three orbital sensors will provide data in the visual, 
near and thermal infrared wavelengths: Landsat TM, SPOT and 
NOAA AVHRR. Starting in 1991, new orbital systems will 
become available through such programmes as JERS-1, ERS-1 and 
RADARSAT. These satellites will carry Synthetic Aperture Radars 
(SARs), which are capable of ‘all weather’ and ‘day-night’ mapping 
of the Earth's surface. A suite of sensors from NASA's proposed 
Mission to Planet Earth is also expected to provide remote sensing 
data for this field programme in future years.