Estimating a Volumetric Backscatter Coefficient from Measurements on the Greenland Ice Sheet

Abstract — We obtained in-situ radar backscatter data at several sites on the Greenland Ice Sheet to better relate scattering signatures to flrn physical properties. Backscatter measurements were made using an ultra-wide band radar system (,5-18 GHz) for incidence angles between O and 50 degrees, wi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: J. Munkl, K. Jezek, F. Baumgartner, S. P. Gogineni, R. R. Forster, H. H. Zabe
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Subjects:
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.65.6547
http://www.ittc.ku.edu/publications/documents/Munk2000_IGARSS2000-3.pdf
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Summary:Abstract — We obtained in-situ radar backscatter data at several sites on the Greenland Ice Sheet to better relate scattering signatures to flrn physical properties. Backscatter measurements were made using an ultra-wide band radar system (,5-18 GHz) for incidence angles between O and 50 degrees, with respect to the snow surface. For large angles of incidence (> 25°) the measured backscatter is dominated by volumetric scattering, as opposed to surface and specular backscatter occurring at near normal incidence. Using the data we present a method for estimating the volumetric backscatter coefficient as a function of depth in flrn. Results show trends consistent with both seasonal variations and long-term grain growth, which is primarily influenced by the accumulation rate I.