It is a major advance on existing automated systems, which struggle to distinguish icebergs from other features in the image. Manual—or human—interpretation of the image is more accurate, but it can take several minutes to delineate the outline of a single iceberg. If that has to be repeated numerous times, the process quickly becomes time-consuming and laborious.

Icebergs have a significant impact on the polar environment and monitoring them is critical for both maritime safety and scientific study. They can be extremely large—in some cases the size of small countries—and can pose a risk to passing ships. As they melt, icebergs release nutrients and freshwater into the seas, and this can have an impact on marine ecosystems.

Dr. Anne Braakmann-Folgmann, who led the study while undertaking doctoral research at the Centre for Polar Observation and Monitoring at the University of Leeds, said, “Icebergs exist in hard-to-reach parts of the world and satellites are not only a fantastic tool to observe where they are, they can help scientists understand the process of how they melt and eventually begin to break apart.

“Using the new AI system overcomes some of the problems with existing automated approaches, which can struggle to distinguish between icebergs and other ice floating on the sea or even a nearby coastline which are present in the same image.”

How the algorithm works

Animation 1 reveals how the algorithm works. It uses an approach designed for manipulating images. By analyzing the pixels in the image, it can determine the boundary or outline of objects, in this case it is identifying the outline of the iceberg.

Animation 2 compares the U-net algorithm with the much slower manual approach.

Dr. Braakmann-Folgmann, now based at the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, said the technology could result in new services to provide information about the shape and size of giant icebergs. Current mapping services show only the midpoint or central location and length of icebergs. Interpretation by this new approach means their outline and area can be calculated.

She added, “Being able to automatically map iceberg extent with enhanced speed and accuracy paves the way for an operational service providing iceberg outlines on a regular, automated basis. Combining them with measurements of iceberg thickness also enables scientists to monitor where giant icebergs are releasing vast quantities of freshwater into the oceans. There are services that give data on the location of icebergs—but not their outline or area.”