In order to fully exploit microwave models of sea ice, the standard ice characterization must be supplemented by a statistical description of the ice microstructure. For the strong fluctuation theory this statistical description takes the form of the mean and variance of the permittivity plus correlation lengths. We have computed these statistics for over 50 samples of young ice, including both columnar congelation ice and desalinated bubbly ice. Samples were taken from different vertical depths and horizontal positions within the ice sheet and encompassed a comprehensive range of ice temperatures and brine volumes. For each of these samples, horizontal thin sections were photographed, then digitized and analyzed on a personal computer-based image processing system. Results indicate that correlation lengths correspond to the physical dimensions of the inclusions: the brine pocket size (typically tenths of a millimeter) for saline ice and the air bubble size (typically millimeters) for desalinated ice. For saline ice the shape of the correlation function was elliptical, similar to the shape of the brine pockets. In one case as the ice warmed from -20¿ to -1 ¿C and the brine volume increased from 2 to 37%, the correlation length increased from 0.14 to 0.22 mm.