Chapter 2
Photo 2.1: Bifurcated grey-white and thin first-year ice, medium floes, moving under the Confederation Bridge.
Ice Observations
- Aerial Ice Observations
- Shipboard Ice Observations
- Iceberg Observations
- Ice Thickness Observations
This chapter deals with the present ice-observing methodology.
Ice observations are made using electronic aids such as radar, by visual observation or from a combination of both methods. These methods vary as functions of the platform from which the ice observations are made as well as what electronic aid equipment is available.
The emphasis in this manual is on visual ice observations made from aerial- and surface-based platforms. References are made to the use of airborne radar imagery; however, the reader is referred to documents related to the interpretation of radar imagery. (cf. 4 and 5)
Ice observations are dependant on the perspective from which the ice is viewed. Ice can be observed from the aerial perspective using an aircraft or helicopter or from the surface perspective using a vessel or from shore. Each perspective has limitations on the nature and detail of ice observations which can be made and in turn drawn on an ice chart. It is important that the Ice Services Specialist (ISS) understand these limitations and what aspects of the ice can and cannot be observed from each perspective.
