Inferring Greenland melt and refreeze severity from SeaWinds scatterometer data
Two SeaWinds radar scatterometers operated in tandem for 9 months in 2003, enabling resolution of the diurnal cycle in Greenland. This dataset provides unprecedented temporal resolution for Ku-band scattering observations of snow and ice melt conditions. As a step towards improved radar-based melt i...
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Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
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2010
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Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.391.6150 http://www.mers.byu.edu/long/papers/IJRS2011_Hicks.pdf |
Summary: | Two SeaWinds radar scatterometers operated in tandem for 9 months in 2003, enabling resolution of the diurnal cycle in Greenland. This dataset provides unprecedented temporal resolution for Ku-band scattering observations of snow and ice melt conditions. As a step towards improved radar-based melt intensity estimation, a simple Markov melt–thaw model is developed to estimate melt and refreeze indices. The melt indices model is evaluated with the aid of a simple geophysical–electromagnetic model and validated by comparing tandem SeaWinds observations against automated weather station data. The new approach is used to analyse the melt conditions over the Greenland ice-sheet in 2003. The strengths and limitations of the approach are considered. 1. |
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