Historical Sea Ice Classification Charts for the Barents Sea

Weekly ice charts from 1966 to 1989 classify sea ice in the Barents Sea into ten categories, ranging from open water to dense pack ice. The data was compiled by the Norwegian Polar Institute and includes raster and vector representations of ice extent.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal trends in ice class distribution, such as 'open water' versus 'dense pack ice', over the 1966-1989 period.
• Model the relationship between ice cover classes and surface heat absorption, using the documented radiation absorption percentages.
• Validate climate model predictions of Arctic warming by comparing simulated ice mass changes against historical vector coverages of ice extent.
• Study seasonal ice patterns by comparing ArcInfo grids for specific months like January 1989 and July-August.
• Assess the self-magnifying effect of ice melt by correlating changes in total ice mass with shifts in ice class composition.

Strengths

• Provides a 24-year temporal record from 1966 to 1989.
• Ice is classified into ten distinct classes, enabling detailed analysis.
• Includes multiple data representations: raster files, ArcInfo grids, and vector polygon coverages.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and complete column metadata are unknown.
• Several raster files have incomplete documentation, with unknown coverage dates.
• Data is historical and ends in 1989, limiting analysis of recent climate trends.

Provenance

Source

Norwegian Polar Institute

Collection Method

Ice charting and compilation into raster and vector formats.

Time Range

1966 to 1989

Geography

Barents Sea region