Polarimetric ice sounding at P-band: First results

For polar ice sheets valuable stress and strain information can be deduced from the crystal orientation fabric (COF) and its prevailing c-axis alignment. Polarimetric radio echo sounding is a promising technique to measure the anisotropic electromagnetic propagation and reflection properties associated with the COF. In this paper, dual-polarized P-band data acquired with the airborne POLARIS system near the ice divide of the Greenland ice sheet are analyzed. The internal layers in the uppermost few hundred meters of the ice sheet look the same at HH and VV polarizations, whereas the layering differs further down. Accordingly, the magnitude of the complex HH-VV correlation coefficient decreases with depth and, interestingly, the phase gives evidence of polarization dependent reflection and birefringence effects.