Satellite Altimetry of Sea Level and Ice Cover in the Barents Sea

Abstract

Satellite altimetry data are used for investigation of the sea level variability and sea ice cover retreat in the Barents Sea in 1992-2018. The data from ERS − 1/2, ENVISAT, SARAL/AltiKa, and Sentinel-3A/3B satellites were used in this study. An increasing trend of the sea level of about 2.31 mm/yr was observed in this time period, which caused a total increase in the Barents Sea level by about 6 cm. Linear trends of the sea level change varied from 1.84 mm/yr in July to 4.29 mm/yr in September. The average velocity of the ice edge retreat along the tracks in the northeastern direction is of 10.9 km/yr for the same period. It was found that the ice edge displacement rate tends to increase by 0.30 km/yr per a degree in longitude in the eastward direction. Thus, the ice edge retreat along the “eastern” tracks goes faster than along the “western” ones, which is likely explained by a change in the water dynamics in the Barents Sea.