Remote sensing of drained ice areas around the breathing holes of ice-inhabiting seals

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Abstract
Drainage of surface meltwater into the breathing holes of seals creates characteristic patterns on undeformed, landfast first-year ice in the Arctic during the melt season. The drained ice areas in the vicinity of Mould Bay, Northwest Territories, have been observed on aerial photography, as well as on imagery from the LANDSAT satellite multispectral scanner, side-looking airborne radar (SLAR), and airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Imagery for the Prince of Wales Strait suggests that the drained areas are also visible on imagery from a space-borne radar. The accuracy of remotely sensed data for detecting seal holes has yet to be determined. Further studies and quantification may lead to use of remotely detected drained ice areas around seal holes as an indicator of the winter resident population of the ringed seal, Phoca hispida.