Comprehensive assessment of sea-ice thickness datasets: The ESA SIN’XS project

Sea-ice thickness is a crucial parameter for a variety of scientific disciplines, including climate science, oceanography, and ecology. It plays a vital role in regulating exchanges of heat, moisture and momentum between the polar oceans and the atmosphere, influencing ocean currents, and affecting local cloud cover and precipitation.

The ESA-funded project SIN’XS, led by NOVELTIS, AWI, LEGOS, and UCL, aims to comprehensively assess available sea-ice thickness and snow thickness products and their uncertainties. We are building up a database of large-scale datasets (satellite-based and models) as well as reference datasets (in-situ, airborne, moorings, etc.) to better understand the variability and change in observed ice thickness in both hemispheres. A web portal enables users to interactively explore and analyse data. In the talk, we will introduce the project and database and present the first results. We will also encourage potential collaborators to contribute to the project by submitting data to our website. We look forward to collaborating with the scientific community to better understand the complexities of sea-ice thickness and its impact on our planet. The ultimate goal of SIN’XS is to provide a reconciled and comprehensive sea-ice thickness estimate.