The reported work describes the results of using object-oriented image analysis techniques to study the areal distribution of first-year ice. The authors have examined the region roughly corresponding to 72/spl deg/N, 140/spl deg/W, which coincides with the area studied under the LEADEX campaign in the Beaufort Sea gyre. At least 32 ERS-1 images of this location have been analyzed so far, of which 12 are discussed in the paper. The findings suggest the likelihood in identifying a set of equations that can characterize the statistical areal distribution of first-year ice over a large portion of the Arctic. The findings further indicate that this relationship persists throughout the year. The results suggest that although the generation of first-year ice is driven by meteorological systems that result in a significant redistribution of multiyear ice, the statistics that describe the population distribution of first-year ice remain stable in the first order.< >
