Sea Ice thickness Observation System SITHOS

The focus of the SITHOS project has been to develop and test new observing systems for sea ice thickness and related parameters for climate change detection, support to sea transport, offshore operations as well as environmental monitoring in polar regions. The project has collected and analysed new data sea ice sets from several field experiments, analyzed satellite altimeter data and conducted model simulations of sea ice in the Arctic. Sea-ice thickness is one of the most difficult ice parameters to measure, because it requires use of platforms which can operate in the ice environment

The main achievements in SITHOS have been the field experiments where several methods of observing ice thickness have been successfully used to collect observations of ice thickness and related parameters. These methods have clearly complementary roles and should be used regularly in future observing systems. The main problem of most observing systems is that they cover local and regional scale, while for climate studies it is necessary to obtain data for the whole Arctic. Satellites has the capability to observe thickness on large scale and should be implemented as part of a global observing system with support from aircraft and in situ measurements.