Crevasse Detection for Safety Issues During the Antarctic Winter using High‐Resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Imagery

• Main Authors: Wesche, Christine, Kohlberg, Eberhard, Nixdorf, Uwe
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/44401/; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.51690

The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging technique enables the mapping of the Earth’s surface independent of weather and light conditions, which makes it a suitable instrument during Antarctic winters. Since the early 1990s, imaging radar techniques have been established in polar sciences. The imagery can be used to support Antarctic wintering staff; e.g. to detect crevasses or other surface features. To do so, the radar backscattering behaviour of homogeneous (undisturbed) and heterogeneous (crevassed) areas is used to map crevasse fields or ice edges. A semi‐automatic technique of surface feature detection can help to process the data more rapidly. Nevertheless, an experienced observer is crucial in emergency cases.