A precise knowledge of wintertime sea-ice production in Arctic polynyas is not only required to enhance our understanding of atmosphere - sea-ice - ocean interactions, but also to verify frequently utilized climate and ocean models. In this study, a high-resolution (2km) MODIS thermal infrared satellite data set featuring spatial and temporal characteristics of 17 Arctic polynya regions (see attached overview map) for the winter seasons 2002/2003 to 2017/2018 is directly compared to a similar data set based on AMSR-E passive microwave data (available for 2002/2003 to 2010/2011). The MODIS data set is purely based on a 1D energy balance model, where thin-ice thicknesses (up to 20cm) are directly derived from ice-surface temperature swath data and ERA-Interim atmospheric reanalysis data on a quasi-daily basis. A gap-filling approach is applied to account for cloud and data gaps in the MODIS composites. Estimation of the thin-ice thickness in the AMSR-E data set is based on an empirical approach that utilizes a distinct polarization ratio (PR) - ice thickness relationship.More detailed information on the retrieval of the data can be found in the referenced publication.

Partly funded by Grant-in-Aids for Scientific Research (17H01157) of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).

Supplement to: Preußer, Andreas; Ohshima, Kay I; Iwamoto, Katsushi; Willmes, Sascha; Heinemann, Günther (2019): Retrieval of Wintertime Sea Ice Production in Arctic Polynyas Using Thermal Infrared and Passive Microwave Remote Sensing Data. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans