INTERPRETATION OF RADIO-ECHO RETURNS FROM INTERNAL WATER BODIES IN VARIEGATED GLACIER

• Main Authors: Alaska U. S. A, W. Jacodel, Stefan K. Anderson
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: glacier; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.634.4604; http://www.igsoc.org/journal/33/115/igs_journal_vol33_issue115_pg319-323.pdf

ADSTRACT. Radio echo-sounding studies were used to detect water-filled cavities on Variegated Glacier, Alaska, during its surge in 1983. Cavity locations were determined by spatial surveys, and changes in cavity size and water content over a 5 week period were inferred from phase and amplitude changes in the echo wave form. Data were taken at both 4 and 8 MHz central frequencies of the impulse transmitter. These bi-frequency results, together with spectral analysis of the digitized wave forms, were used to provide additional information about the cavity dimensions. Cavity response is interpreted in terms of a simplified model of a thin layer of strong dielectric contrast. Computer simulations of radar pulses encountering such layers reproduce the main features of the data.