A spectral mixture analysis approach to quantify Arctic first-year sea ice melt pond fraction using QuickBird and MODIS reflectance data

Melt ponds play a significant role in the summer decay of sea ice due to the fact that their albedo is significantly lower than surrounding snow and sea ice surface. Despite its requirement for thermodynamic sea ice modeling, measurement of melt pond areal coverage using satellite remote sensing has proven difficult due to significant spatiotemporal variability in the timing and evolution of melt ponds. Less than optimal results from prior...