In situ radioglaciological measurements near Taylor Dome, Antarctica and implications for ultra-high energy (UHE) neutrino astronomy

Radiowave detection of the Cherenkov radiation produced by neutrino-ice collisions requires an understanding of the radiofrequency (RF) response of cold polar ice. We herein report on a series of radioglaciological measurements performed approximately 10 km north of Taylor Dome Station, Antarctica from December 6, 2006–December 16, 2006. Using RF signals broadcast from: (a) an englacial discone, submerged to a depth of 100 m and broadcasting to a surface dual-polarization horn receiver, and (b) a dual-polarization horn antenna on the surface transmitting signals which reflect off the underlying bed and back up to the surface receiver, we have made time-domain estimates of both the real (index-of-refraction “n”) and imaginary (attenuation length “Latten”) components of the complex ice dielectric constant. We have also measured the uniformity of ice response along two orthogonal axes in the horizontal plane. We observe an apparent wavespeed asymmetry of order 0.1% between two orthogonal linear polarizations projected into the horizontal plane, consistent with some previous measurements, but somewhat lower than others.