February 4, 2022 - Sea Ice off Sakhalin Island

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Sea Ice off Sakhalin
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Frigid temperatures across Russia’s Far East helped sea ice form and
thicken on the Sea of Okhotsk off the coast of Sakhalin Island by early
February 2022. Although sea ice forms across most of the area above the
Arctic Circle each winter, seas near and south of that landmark can
also become frosted in ice. The Sea of Okhotsk is one of the lowest
latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere (about 44˚N) where substantial
amounts of sea ice can be expected each year. This winter, satellite
imagery showed light ice beginning to form in mid-December and
thickening through early February.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a stunning false-color image of sea ice
east of Sakhalin Island on February 2. This type of image, using
near-infrared and visible light, is especially helpful to separate snow
(bright electric blue) from cloud (white or very light blue when ice
crystals are present in the cloud). Deep water appears black, and
vegetation looks green. Where sea ice is thin and moist, it often
appears in various tones of blue depending on the moisture content.
This view shows that ice has begun to cling to the eastern-most shores
of the curved island, both in the north and south, to create a frigid
bridge between. Open water remains between this bridge and the more
westward-lying edge of Sakhalin Island.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/2/3033
Resolutions: 1km (432.9 KB), 500m (1.1 MB), 250m (735.6 KB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-02-04

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