Digital Image Processing for Sea Ice Observations in Support to Arctic DP Operations

Various types of remotely sensed data and imaging technology will aid the development of sea ice observation to support estimation of ice forces that are critical to Dynamic Positioning (DP) operations in Arctic waters. The use of cameras as sensors on mobile sensor platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles in Arctic DP operations will be explored for measurements of ice statistics and ice properties. Several image processing algorithms are adopted to analyze ice concentration, ice floe boundaries, and ice types. The resulting image processing methods for ice observation, including a discussion of possibilities, limitations, and further improvements, are presented in this paper.