Observations of the Antarctic ice sheet with the Seasat scatterometer: relation to katabatic-wind intensity and direction
Abstract The Seasat A satellite scatterometer radar, initially designed to measure ocean-wind intensity and direction, also provided observations on the Antarctic ice sheet. The signal of the back-scatter coefficient decreases strongly from 10 to −20 dB when the incidence angle of the observations i...
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1993
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s002214300001604x https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214300001604X |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s002214300001604x 2024-03-03T08:38:27+00:00 Observations of the Antarctic ice sheet with the Seasat scatterometer: relation to katabatic-wind intensity and direction Ledroit, M. Remy, F. Minster, J.-F. 1993 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s002214300001604x https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214300001604X en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) Journal of Glaciology volume 39, issue 132, page 385-396 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 Earth-Surface Processes journal-article 1993 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s002214300001604x 2024-02-08T08:34:04Z Abstract The Seasat A satellite scatterometer radar, initially designed to measure ocean-wind intensity and direction, also provided observations on the Antarctic ice sheet. The signal of the back-scatter coefficient decreases strongly from 10 to −20 dB when the incidence angle of the observations increases from 0° to 65°. An additional 5 dB signal is found, which is correlated with the direction and intensity of katabatic winds, independent of the incidence angle and polarization of the signal. By using simplified models of the volume-scattering within the snowpack (which is mostly sensitive to snow grain-size) and surface-scattering from the air-snow interface (which depends on roughness), it is evident that the signal of the scatterometer could result from the effects of snow dunes at low incidence angle, and of micro-roughness and volume back-scatter at incidence angles greater than 25°. The instrument therefore provides a means of measuring the direction and intensity of katabatic winds. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Antarctic The Antarctic Journal of Glaciology 39 132 385 396 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth-Surface Processes |
spellingShingle |
Earth-Surface Processes Ledroit, M. Remy, F. Minster, J.-F. Observations of the Antarctic ice sheet with the Seasat scatterometer: relation to katabatic-wind intensity and direction |
topic_facet |
Earth-Surface Processes |
description |
Abstract The Seasat A satellite scatterometer radar, initially designed to measure ocean-wind intensity and direction, also provided observations on the Antarctic ice sheet. The signal of the back-scatter coefficient decreases strongly from 10 to −20 dB when the incidence angle of the observations increases from 0° to 65°. An additional 5 dB signal is found, which is correlated with the direction and intensity of katabatic winds, independent of the incidence angle and polarization of the signal. By using simplified models of the volume-scattering within the snowpack (which is mostly sensitive to snow grain-size) and surface-scattering from the air-snow interface (which depends on roughness), it is evident that the signal of the scatterometer could result from the effects of snow dunes at low incidence angle, and of micro-roughness and volume back-scatter at incidence angles greater than 25°. The instrument therefore provides a means of measuring the direction and intensity of katabatic winds. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ledroit, M. Remy, F. Minster, J.-F. |
author_facet |
Ledroit, M. Remy, F. Minster, J.-F. |
author_sort |
Ledroit, M. |
title |
Observations of the Antarctic ice sheet with the Seasat scatterometer: relation to katabatic-wind intensity and direction |
title_short |
Observations of the Antarctic ice sheet with the Seasat scatterometer: relation to katabatic-wind intensity and direction |
title_full |
Observations of the Antarctic ice sheet with the Seasat scatterometer: relation to katabatic-wind intensity and direction |
title_fullStr |
Observations of the Antarctic ice sheet with the Seasat scatterometer: relation to katabatic-wind intensity and direction |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observations of the Antarctic ice sheet with the Seasat scatterometer: relation to katabatic-wind intensity and direction |
title_sort |
observations of the antarctic ice sheet with the seasat scatterometer: relation to katabatic-wind intensity and direction |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1993 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s002214300001604x https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214300001604X |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 39, issue 132, page 385-396 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s002214300001604x |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
39 |
container_issue |
132 |
container_start_page |
385 |
op_container_end_page |
396 |
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1792506840776441856 |