Intensity of Satellite Radar-Altimeter Return Power Over Continental Ice: A Potential Measurement of Katabatic Wind Intensity
Abstract We analyse, above continental ice, the various factors which affect the power return of the Seasat radar altimeter as measured by its Automatic Gain Control (AGC). Corrections of effects due to the AGC loop control are first applied. AGC is then normalized by positioning the half-power poin...
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1990
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000009369 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000009369 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0022143000009369 2024-06-23T07:47:39+00:00 Intensity of Satellite Radar-Altimeter Return Power Over Continental Ice: A Potential Measurement of Katabatic Wind Intensity Remy, F. Brossier, C. Minster, J.F. 1990 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000009369 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000009369 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) Journal of Glaciology volume 36, issue 123, page 133-142 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 journal-article 1990 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000009369 2024-06-05T04:04:36Z Abstract We analyse, above continental ice, the various factors which affect the power return of the Seasat radar altimeter as measured by its Automatic Gain Control (AGC). Corrections of effects due to the AGC loop control are first applied. AGC is then normalized by positioning the half-power point at the middle of the instrument receiving window. This operation is valid for both surface and volume scattering. Over a part of Antarctica between long. 90° and 150°E., the remaining variations of AGC are of the order of 15 dB. Most of these variations occur on a large scale (>100km) and are correlated with the katabatic wind intensity. This indicates that AGC measures either surface roughness of the ice, which is related to wind intensity, or grain-size which could also be dependent on the wind. In-situ measurements support the evidence that the radar altimeter is more sensitive to surface scattering. These data could therefore provide a measurement of the intensity of katabatic winds over the continental ice. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Journal of Glaciology 36 123 133 142 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract We analyse, above continental ice, the various factors which affect the power return of the Seasat radar altimeter as measured by its Automatic Gain Control (AGC). Corrections of effects due to the AGC loop control are first applied. AGC is then normalized by positioning the half-power point at the middle of the instrument receiving window. This operation is valid for both surface and volume scattering. Over a part of Antarctica between long. 90° and 150°E., the remaining variations of AGC are of the order of 15 dB. Most of these variations occur on a large scale (>100km) and are correlated with the katabatic wind intensity. This indicates that AGC measures either surface roughness of the ice, which is related to wind intensity, or grain-size which could also be dependent on the wind. In-situ measurements support the evidence that the radar altimeter is more sensitive to surface scattering. These data could therefore provide a measurement of the intensity of katabatic winds over the continental ice. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Remy, F. Brossier, C. Minster, J.F. |
spellingShingle |
Remy, F. Brossier, C. Minster, J.F. Intensity of Satellite Radar-Altimeter Return Power Over Continental Ice: A Potential Measurement of Katabatic Wind Intensity |
author_facet |
Remy, F. Brossier, C. Minster, J.F. |
author_sort |
Remy, F. |
title |
Intensity of Satellite Radar-Altimeter Return Power Over Continental Ice: A Potential Measurement of Katabatic Wind Intensity |
title_short |
Intensity of Satellite Radar-Altimeter Return Power Over Continental Ice: A Potential Measurement of Katabatic Wind Intensity |
title_full |
Intensity of Satellite Radar-Altimeter Return Power Over Continental Ice: A Potential Measurement of Katabatic Wind Intensity |
title_fullStr |
Intensity of Satellite Radar-Altimeter Return Power Over Continental Ice: A Potential Measurement of Katabatic Wind Intensity |
title_full_unstemmed |
Intensity of Satellite Radar-Altimeter Return Power Over Continental Ice: A Potential Measurement of Katabatic Wind Intensity |
title_sort |
intensity of satellite radar-altimeter return power over continental ice: a potential measurement of katabatic wind intensity |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1990 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000009369 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000009369 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 36, issue 123, page 133-142 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000009369 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
36 |
container_issue |
123 |
container_start_page |
133 |
op_container_end_page |
142 |
_version_ |
1802651793980653568 |