Passive Microwave Spectral Emission from Saline Ice at C-Band During the Growth Phase

This paper focusses on microwave radiometer measurements of the emission from saline ice as a function of ice thickness. The instrument used is a C-band stepped-frequency microwave radiometer (SFMR) that can be tuned to operate at any center frequency from 4 to 8 GHz at a bandwidth of 100 MHz. The measurements were undertaken at a facility constructed by the U. S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, which was specifically designed to satisfy remote-sensing requirements. In addition to presenting the data, a simple theory is developed to explain the experimental results in terms of the relevant electromagnetic parameters; namely, the complex dielectric constant and thickness of the ice.