Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar Measurements of Snow Covered First-Year Sea Ice ...

This study examines the utility of fully polarimetric C-and SAR parameters and three-component scattering model to quantify the sensitivity of snow covered first-year sea ice (FYI) to radar incidence angles and surface air temperature (SAT) during the late winter transition. This three-component sca...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hossain, Md. Mosharraf
Format: Master Thesis
Language:English
Published: Graduate Studies 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/prism/27377
https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/11023/252
Description
Summary:This study examines the utility of fully polarimetric C-and SAR parameters and three-component scattering model to quantify the sensitivity of snow covered first-year sea ice (FYI) to radar incidence angles and surface air temperature (SAT) during the late winter transition. This three-component scattering model is based on surface, double-bounce and volume scattering contributed from various materials and surface properties. RADARSAT-2 C-band fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (POLSAR) data is utilized to quantify the sensitivity of thermodynamic effects (-8° C and -0.4° C ) of the polarimetric backscatter signature on mean snow cover thickness ranging from 8 cm to 36 cm with in-situ geophysical data from four different validation sites along with two different radar incidence angles 29° (steep) and 39° (shallow) to discriminate between snow-covered smooth, rough and deformed FYI. The result shows enhanced discrimination at shallower incidence angles compared to steeper ones in both 2-D and 3-D ...