Arctic sea ice mapping with satellite radars

Author

Ngheim, Son V. ; Clemete-Colón, Pablo

Author_Institution

Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA

Volume

24

Issue

11

fYear

2009

Firstpage

41

Lastpage

44

Abstract

The drastic reduction of Arctic sea ice in recent years demands ice monitoring over various spatial and temporal scales. Sea ice backscatter signatures from field measurements and from model analyses are obtained at L-band and C-band frequencies. Based on these signatures, capabilities for Arctic sea ice mapping are determined for current and future satellite active microwave sensors including synthetic aperture radars (SAR) and scatterometers. This study includes L-band and C-band radars such as the ERS (European Remote Sensing), Envisat (Environmental Satellite), RADARSAT-1 and 2, ALOS (Advanced Land Observing Satellite), and DESDnyl (Deformation, Ecosystem Structure, and Dynamics of Ice). SARs with resolutions from 10 to 100 m, and the SMAP (Soil Moisture Active-Passive) scatterometer with resolutions from 1 to 10 km.

Keywords

oceanographic regions; oceanographic techniques; remote sensing by radar; sea ice; synthetic aperture radar; ALOS; Advanced Land Observing Satellite; Arctic sea ice mapping; C-band frequency; C-band radar; DESDynl; Environmental Satellite; Envisat; European Remote Sensing; L-band frequency; L-band radar; RADARSAT-1; RADARSAT-2; SMAP scatterometer; Soil Moisture Active-Passive scatterometer; ice monitoring; satellite active microwave sensors; satellite radars; scatterometers; sea ice backscatter signatures; synthetic aperture radars; Arctic; Backscatter; Frequency measurement; L-band; Monitoring; Radar measurements; Satellites; Sea ice; Sea measurements; Spaceborne radar;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0885-8985

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/MAES.2009.5344181

Filename

5344181