Characteristics of ice melt ponds. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) collects data on the albedo, depth, and physical characteristics of ice melt ponds in the Canadian arctic. Environmental engineers at the University of Colorado are using these data to study how climate impacts the sea ice. Data for 504 ice melt ponds located in the Barrow Strait in the Canadian arctic are saved in the PONDICE file. One variable of interest is the type of ice observed for each pond. Ice type is classified as first-year ice, multiyear ice, or landfast ice. A SAS summary table and horizontal bar graph that describe the ice types of the 504 melt ponds are shown at the top of the next page.
(a) Of the 504 melt ponds, what proportion had landfast ice?
| The FREQ Procedure |
| ICETYPE |
Frequency |
Percent |
Cumulative Frequency |
Cumulative Percent |
| First-year |
88 |
17.46 |
88 |
17.46 |
| lendFast |
196 |
38.89 |
284 |
56.35 |
| Multi-year |
220 |
43.65 |
504 |
100 |
(b) The University of Colorado researchers estimated that about 17% of melt ponds in the Canadian arctic have first-year ice. Do you agree?
(c) Interpret the horizontal bar graph.