The Buckley Lab

Research

Our research aims to understand the ongoing changes of the polar oceans by synthesizing information from remote sensing observations for a richer picture. We utilize high-resolution remote sensing measurements to study ocean and sea ice properties and processes at both large and small scales. Bespoke algorithms are required for processing new observations and ingenuity is necessary for synthesizing datasets in an ever-changing landscape of remote sensing instruments. As the Arctic warms and the sea ice continues to disintegrate and become less reliable and stable for in situ measurements, remote sensing will become increasingly important for monitoring the polar regions, a vital sign of the planet.

Ongoing Work

See the products page for our group data products and code.

Publications

  
2026
From Spinning Sea Ice Floes to Ocean Enstrophy Spectra in the Marginal Ice Zone
M. Kim, G. E. Manucharyan, M. H. DiBenedetto, E. M. Buckley, D. M. Watkins, M. M. Wilhelmus
Geophysical Research Letters  ·  21 Mar 2026  ·  doi:10.1029/2025GL119371
Advancing Arctic summer sea ice freeboard from ICESat-2
Isolde Glissenaar, Jack Landy, Wenxuan Liu, Ellen Buckley
Copernicus GmbH  ·  14 Mar 2026  ·  doi:10.5194/egusphere-egu26-17515 
  
2025
Sea ice concentration estimates from ICESat-2 linear ice fraction – Part 2: Gridded data comparison and bias estimation
Christopher Horvat, Ellen Buckley, Madelyn Stewart
The Cryosphere  ·  21 Oct 2025  ·  doi:10.5194/tc-19-4819-2025
Sea ice concentration estimates from ICESat-2 linear ice fraction – Part 1: Multi-sensor comparison of sea ice concentration products
Ellen M. Buckley, Christopher Horvat, Pittayuth Yoosiri
The Cryosphere  ·  21 Oct 2025  ·  doi:10.5194/tc-19-4805-2025
From spinning sea ice floes to ocean enstrophy spectra in the Marginal Ice Zone
Minki Kim, Georgy E Manucharyan, Michelle H DiBenedetto, Ellen M Buckley, Daniel M Watkins, Monica M Wilhelmus
Wiley  ·  19 Sep 2025  ·  doi:10.22541/essoar.175827334.49117064/v1
Sea Ice Concentration Estimates from ICESat-2 Linear Ice Fraction. Part 2: Gridded Data Comparison and Bias Estimation
Christopher Horvat, Ellen M. Buckley, Madelyn Stewart
Copernicus GmbH  ·  14 Jan 2025  ·  doi:10.5194/egusphere-2024-3864 
  
2024
Sea Ice Concentration Estimates from ICESat-2 Linear Ice Fraction. Part 1: Multi-sensor Comparison of Sea Ice Concentration Products
Ellen M. Buckley, Christopher Horvat, Pittayuth Yoosiri
Copernicus GmbH  ·  17 Dec 2024  ·  doi:10.5194/egusphere-2024-3861
Seasonal evolution of the sea ice floe size distribution in the Beaufort Sea from 2 decades of MODIS data
Ellen M. Buckley, Leela Cañuelas, Mary-Louise Timmermans, Monica M. Wilhelmus
The Cryosphere  ·  06 Nov 2024  ·  doi:10.5194/tc-18-5031-2024
Seasonal Evolution of the Sea Ice Floe Size Distribution from Two Decades of MODIS Data
Ellen Margaret Buckley, Leela Cañuelas, Mary-Louise Timmermans, Monica Martinez Wilhelmus
Copernicus GmbH  ·  19 Jan 2024  ·  doi:10.5194/egusphere-2024-89 
  
2023
Linear Ice Fraction: Sea Ice Concentration Estimates from the ICESat-2 Laser Altimeter
Christopher Horvat, Ellen Buckley, Madelyn Stewart, Poom Yoosiri, Monica M. Wilhelmus
Copernicus GmbH  ·  24 Oct 2023  ·  doi:10.5194/egusphere-2023-2312
Observing the evolution of summer melt on multiyear sea ice with ICESat-2 and Sentinel-2
Ellen M. Buckley, Sinéad L. Farrell, Ute C. Herzfeld, Melinda A. Webster, Thomas Trantow, Oliwia N. Baney, Kyle A. Duncan, Huilin Han, Matthew Lawson
The Cryosphere  ·  31 Aug 2023  ·  doi:10.5194/tc-17-3695-2023
Observing the Evolution of Summer Melt on Multiyear Sea Ice with ICESat-2 and Sentinel-2
Ellen Margaret Buckley, Sinéad Louise Farrell, Ute C. Herzfeld, Melinda A. Webster, Thomas Trantow, Oliwia N. Baney, Kyle A. Duncan, Huilin Han, Matthew Lawson
Copernicus GmbH  ·  13 Feb 2023  ·  doi:10.5194/egusphere-2023-189
Automated Detection and Depth Determination of Melt Ponds on Sea Ice in ICESat-2 ATLAS Data—The Density-Dimension Algorithm for Bifurcating Sea-Ice Reflectors (DDA-Bifurcate-Seaice)
Ute Christina Herzfeld, Thomas M. Trantow, Huilin Han, Ellen Buckley, Sinéad Louise Farrell, Matthew Lawson
IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing  ·  01 Jan 2023  ·  doi:10.1109/tgrs.2023.3268073 
  
2022
Automated Detection and Depth Determination of Melt Ponds on Sea Ice in ICESat-2 ATLAS Data — The Density-Dimension Algorithm for Bifurcating Sea-Ice Reflectors (DDA-bifurcate-seaice)
Ute Herzfeld, Thomas Trantow, Huilin Han, Ellen Buckley, Sinead Farrell, Matthew Lawson
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)  ·  10 Oct 2022  ·  doi:10.36227/techrxiv.21300153
Automated Detection and Depth Determination of Melt Ponds on Sea Ice in ICESat-2 ATLAS Data — The Density-Dimension Algorithm for Bifurcating Sea-Ice Reflectors (DDA-bifurcate-seaice)
Ute Herzfeld, Thomas Trantow, Huilin Han, Ellen Buckley, Sinead Farrell, Matthew Lawson
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)  ·  10 Oct 2022  ·  doi:10.36227/techrxiv.21300153.v1 
  
2021
Evolution of Melt Pond Fraction and Depth on Multiyear Ice in 2020 from High Resolution Satellite Observations
Ellen Buckley, Sinéad Farrell, Oliwia Baney, Kyle Duncan, Ute Herzfeld, Thomas Trantow, Matthew Lawson
Wiley  ·  14 Dec 2021  ·  doi:10.1002/essoar.10509479.1
Evolution of Melt Pond Fraction and Depth on Multiyear Ice in 2020 from High Resolution Satellite Observations
Ellen Buckley, Sinéad Farrell, Oliwia Baney, Kyle Duncan, Ute Herzfeld, Thomas Trantow, Matthew Lawson
Wiley  ·  14 Dec 2021  ·  doi:10.1002/essoar.10509479.2
ICESat-2 observations of melt ponds on Arctic sea ice
Ellen Buckley, Sinéad Farrell, Kyle Duncan, Ute Herzfeld
Wiley  ·  26 Oct 2021  ·  doi:10.1002/essoar.10508493.1
The Scientific Legacy of NASA’s Operation IceBridge
Joseph A. MacGregor, Linette N. Boisvert, Brooke Medley, Alek A. Petty, Jeremy P. Harbeck, …, Martin Truffer, Thomas P. Wagner, John E. Woods, Duncan A. Young, James K. Yungel
Reviews of Geophysics  ·  01 Jun 2021  ·  doi:10.1029/2020rg000712 
  
2020
Classification of Sea Ice Summer Melt Features in High‐Resolution IceBridge Imagery
Ellen M. Buckley, Sinéad L. Farrell, Kyle Duncan, Laurence N. Connor, John M. Kuhn, RoseAnne T. Dominguez
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans  ·  04 Dec 2020  ·  doi:10.1029/2019JC015738
Data
Manuscript Source
open-science collaboration
Mapping Sea Ice Surface Topography in High Fidelity With ICESat‐2
S. L. Farrell, K. Duncan, E. M. Buckley, J. Richter‐Menge, R. Li
Geophysical Research Letters  ·  02 Nov 2020  ·  doi:10.1029/2020GL090708
Mapping Sea Ice Surface Topography in High Fidelity with ICESat-2
Sinéad Farrell, Kyle Duncan, Ellen Buckley, Jacqueline Richter-Menge, Ruohan Li
Wiley  ·  24 Sep 2020  ·  doi:10.1002/essoar.10504391.1
Comments on "Observations of Sea Ice Melt from Operation IceBridge Imagery"
Copernicus GmbH  ·  11 Feb 2020  ·  doi:10.5194/tc-2019-288-SC1 
  
2019
Classification of Arctic Sea Ice Surface Types During the Melt Season in High-Resolution IceBridge Imagery
Ellen Buckley, Sinéad Farrell, Kyle Duncan, Laurence Connor, John Kuhn, RoseAnne Dominguez, Sinéad Farrell
Wiley  ·  18 Feb 2019  ·  doi:10.1002/essoar.10500735.2
Classification of Arctic Sea Ice Surface Types During the Melt Season in High-Resolution IceBridge Imagery
Ellen Buckley, Sinéad Farrell, Kyle Duncan, Laurence Connor, John Kuhn, RoseAnne Dominguez
Wiley  ·  13 Feb 2019  ·  doi:10.1002/essoar.10500735.1