New Method Developed to Estimate Arctic Sea Ice Thickness Using Satellite Data
Release Date:
Associate Professor Noriaki Kimura of Kochi University ( Faculty of Education) and Professor Hiroyasu Hasumi of the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute at the University of Tokyo have developed a new method for estimating the thickness of Arctic sea ice using satellite observation data.
In this study, we estimated sea ice thickness by tracing the movement of sea ice back in time to determine “when and where it formed,” and then calculating the amount of sea ice growth based on the meteorological conditions along its subsequent path. The estimated results were in good agreement with field measurements, confirming the effectiveness of the method. This method has significantly improved the accuracy of existing sea ice thickness data and now allows us to monitor daily sea ice thickness in the Arctic Ocean with unprecedented precision.
In addition, sea ice thickness data generated based on the findings of this study have been made publicly available through the National Institute of Polar Research’s Arctic and Antarctic Data Archive System (ADS), and the VISHOP visualization system now allows users to view sea ice thickness distributions across the entire Arctic Ocean in near real time.
The findings of this study were published on April 23, 2026, in *The Cryosphere*, an international academic journal of the European Geosciences Union.
Sea ice thickness distribution in the Arctic Ocean on May 31, 2021, estimated using the method developed in this study. Blue indicates thin sea ice, while red indicates thick sea ice. Thick sea ice exceeding 3 meters is present off the Canadian Archipelago, and it can be seen flowing out toward the coast of Alaska.
[Press Release] New Method Developed to Estimate Arctic Sea Ice Thickness Using Satellite Data.pdf
[Paper Information]
Journal: The Cryosphere
URL: https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/20/2331/2026/
Paper Title: Estimating Arctic sea ice thickness from satellite-based ice history
DOI: 10.5194/tc-20-2331-2026
Authors: Kazuaki Kimura (Kochi University Faculty of Education), Hiroyasu Hagaku (Institute of Atmospheric and Oceanic Research, The University of Tokyo)
[Data Publication URL]
Numerical Data
https://ads.nipr.ac.jp/dataset/A20260409-001
Visualization Published
https://ads.nipr.ac.jp/vishop/#/monitor/type=jaxa®ion=NP&product=SIT