Bistatic/monostatic synthetic aperture radar for ice sheet measurements

• Main Author: John Paden
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2003
• Subjects: Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.142.2526; http://www.ittc.ku.edu/research/thesis/documents/john_paden_thesis.pdf

A ground-based monostatic/bistatic, broadband VHF synthetic aperture radar is being developed for the two-dimensional mapping of the basal conditions of polar ice sheets. The goal is to obtain knowledge of the morphology or ‘roughness ’ of the bed, the distribution of the subglacial water film, and the amount of rock debris and silt in the basal ice. Since ice sheet basal conditions represent one of the boundary conditions of glacier flow, they are a fundamental component in ice flow models. The ability to establish basal conditions with a high degree of accuracy will fill an important gap in the knowledge base used to predict the origin and migration of ice streams, which drain the majority of the polar ice sheets. An improved understanding of ice sheet dynamics can be used to predict future sea level rise that threatens coastal regions throughout the world. A measurement model for the radar system is described. SAR processing algorithms based on this measurement model using a matched filter and maximum likelihood filter are then derived. The model and algorithms are used throughout the