C-Band Polarimetric Backscattering Signatures of Newly Formed Sea Ice during Fall Freeze-up

Dustin Isleifson, Phil Hwang, David Barber, Randy Scharien, Lot Shafai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

48 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A study of the polarimetric backscattering response of newly formed sea ice types under a large assortment of surface coverage was conducted using a ship-based C-band polarimetric radar system. Polarimetric backscattering results and physical data for 40 stations during the fall freeze-up of 2003, 2006, and 2007 are presented. Analysis of the copolarized correlation coefficient showed its sensitivity to both sea ice thickness and surface coverage and resulted in a statistically significant separation of ice thickness into two regimes: ice less than 6 cm thick and ice greater than 8 cm thick. A case study quantified the backscatter of a layer of snow infiltrated frost flowers on new sea ice, showing that the presence of the old frost flowers can enhance the backscatter by more than 6 dB. Finally, a statistical analysis of a series of temporal-spatial measurements over a visually homogeneous frost-flower-covered ice floe identified temperature as a significant, but not exclusive, factor in the backscattering measurements.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3256-3267
Number of pages12
JournalIEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens.
Volume48
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010

Keywords

  • DEPENDENCE
  • Geochemistry & Geophysics
  • Remote Sensing
  • SCATTERING
  • FROST FLOWER GROWTH
  • THIN SALINE ICE
  • PHYSICAL-PROPERTIES
  • SURFACE
  • RADAR BACKSCATTER
  • Engineering, Electrical & Electronic

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