Comparing GNSS derived sea ice drift in the Arctic and Antarctic using rotary spectra and principal component analysis
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Sea ice drift underpins air–sea ice coupling and model evaluation, but the Southern Ocean remains chronically under sampled relative to the Arctic. This work presents a cross-polar comparison of GNSS-tracked ice-drift time series using rotary spectral analysis, principal component analysis, inter-buoy coherence, complementary shape- and amplitude-sensitive spectral differences. Arctic data are aggregated into Beaufort Gyre and Transpolar Drift seasonal composites (2017–2024); Antarctic data comprise eight heterogeneous campaigns (2000–2022) with small buoy counts and short durations. After common quality control, the clearest cross-polar similarity is spectral organisation: both regions show strong low-frequency variance and a hemisphere-appropriate rotary enhancement near the Coriolis frequency, interpreted cautiously as a combined inertial–semidiurnal response. Coherence is highest at synoptic scales and declines towards higher frequencies. Southern Ocean campaigns occupy a higher-energy envelope, so similar band structure does not imply similar drift amplitude. Principal components capture much array-scale motion, but high cumulative variance does not substitute for dense sampling of smaller-scale processes. The results provide transferable frequency-resolved benchmarks (dominant variance below 0.5 cpd and in the near-inertial band, an expanded Arctic reference, and explicit separation of spectral shape from amplitude) to inform future observing-system design without assuming identical dynamical regimes.
Authors: James H. Hepworth, Amit Kumar Mishra
Institutions: University of Cape Town, University West, AGH University of Krakow
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7203915164
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