In this project the PI will carry out a remote sensing study of dense water formation by ice production and brine rejection in the Bering and Okhotsk coastal polynyas during simultaneous field experiments in the same regions. For the Okhotsk Sea, the distribution of ice types within the polynyas will be determined from a detailed examination of remote sensing data during the 1998 - 2000 period of the oceanographic surveys to be carried out by Talley (OCE-9811958). NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), RADARSAT Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and other satellite data will be used. Annual changes in the Ohkotsk Sea heat balance will be determined to see if the Okhotsk is a net heat source or sink to the atmosphere.
