Abstract:
Due to the tidal effectsea ice in Polar Regions moves verticall y alon g with the sea level.The elevation of the sea ices upper surface can be detected by a GPS receiverand sea level can be measured by tide observations.Thereuponif we can provide the thickness of the snow cover over the sea iceand the densities of snow and sea icethenaccording to the princi ple of hydrostatic balance thickness of the sea ice can be derived by a combination of the GPS and tide observations.The experiment conducted by the 28th Chinese National Antarctic Expedition at Zhongshan Station in Antarctica during September 222012to November 9indicates that the sea ice thickness can be estimated in centimeterlevel accurac y by this app roach.Compares to the measurements made by drillin g holesthe maximum difference is 8.9centimetersthe root mean square of the different values is 5.4centimeters.