ON SEA-ICE DRIFT FROM THE WAVELET ANALYSIS OF THE DEFENSE METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITE PROGRAM (DMSP) SPECIAL SENSOR MICROWAVE IMAGER (SSM I) DATA/

Wavelet analysis of DMSP SSM/I 85 GHz radiance data is used to obtain daily sea ice drift information for both the northern and southern pol ar regions. This technique provides improved spatial coverage over the existing array of Arctic Ocean buoys and better temporal resolution o ver techniques utilizing data from satellite synthetic aperture radars . Examples of derived ice-drift maps for both hemispheres illustrate l arge-scale circulation reversals over a period of one month. Compariso ns with ice displacements derived from buoys give good quantitative ag reement.