Ice Hazard strongRadarstrong - Fisheries and Oceans Canada.pdfVIP

Ice Hazard Radar Barbara J. O’Connell Canadian Coast Guard Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Barb.OConnell@dfo-mpo.gc.ca produce high resolution images of the ice and a clear contrast between the dangerous multi-year ice and other sea ice. ABSTRACT Ships transiting polar regions would benefit from a marine ice navigation radar that could help them differentiate between dangerous multi-year ice and thick first-year ice. Conventional marine radars are designed for target detection and avoidance. Enhanced marine radars provide a higher definition image of the ice that the vessel is transiting through and may help the user to identify certain ice features, but they cannot distinguish first year ice from old ice. This paper presents one approach for the automated identification of sea ice types by a marine radar using cross-polarization technology. KEY WORDS: Navigation; multi-year ice; cross-polarized scanner; marine radar. INTRODUCTION The influx of multi-year ice from the Arctic Ocean into the Canadian Figure 1. Ice damage to tanker Arctic Archipelago results in navigational hazards for any vessel heading to northern locations or transiting the Northwest Passage. This multi-year project originated under a Climate Change Technology There is a high risk for hull damage due to collision with m