STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF THE SEA OF OKHOTSK MARGINAL ICE-ZONE FROM OCEAN SATELLITE RADAR SENSING DATA

Radar images of the Sea of Okhotsk ice cover are analyzed. The images were obtained by side looking radars (SLR) installed on the USSR "Ocean" series of satellites since September 1983. SLR operates at wavelength 3.15 cm at vertical polarization. A swath width is 460 km at a spatial resolution of 1-3 km. Satellite optical images, air reconnaissance, and meteorological information are used to interpret sea ice radar contrasts. The radar images permit monitoring of the formation and transformation of the ice cover and its displacement under the influence of winds and currents. Radar contrast is enhanced in the marginal ice zone on account of the great difference in the scattering properties of pancake ice and grease ice. In the marginal ice zone, different regular motions are registered for ice edge waves, ice bands and jets, eddies, and mushroomlike structures with dimensions ranging between 10-20 and 100-120 km.