Multifrequency polarimetric synthetic aperture radar observations of sea ice

The first known fully polarimetric airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data set of sea ice is introduced. The full Stokes matrix information generated from C, L, and P band data characterize the scattering behavior of different ice types. Polarization ratios and phase differences between linear...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Drinkwater, MR, Kwok, R, Winebrenner, DP, Rignot, E
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: eScholarship, University of California 1991
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/9q66p7fz
Description
Summary:The first known fully polarimetric airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data set of sea ice is introduced. The full Stokes matrix information generated from C, L, and P band data characterize the scattering behavior of different ice types. Polarization ratios and phase differences between linear copolarized returns are used for discrimination between particular image features and mechanisms are suggested for the observed polarimetric characteristics. Results indicate that combinations of frequency and polarization enhance current capability to distinguish ice of different properties using single frequency, fixed polarization microwave radar. -from Authors