Sea-ice concentration derived from GNSS reflection measurements in Fram Strait ...

• Main Authors: Semmling, A. Maximilian, Rösel, Anja, Divine, Dmitry V., Gerland, Sebastian, Stienne, Georges, Rebul, Serge, Ludwig, Marcel, Wickert, Jens, Schuh, Harald
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Technische Universität Berlin 2019
• Subjects: 550 Geowissenschaften; radar applications; reflectometry; satellite navigation systems; sea-ice concentration; Fram Strait; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14279/depositonce-11878; https://depositonce.tu-berlin.de/handle/11303/13082

Reflection power derived from the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) observations and its sensitivity to sea-ice concentration are investigated in this article. A corresponding experiment has been conducted during the Fram Strait cruise of the Norwegian research vessel Lance in summer 2016. The dedicated setup with a GNSS Occultation Reflectometry Scatterometry (GORS) receiver and dual-polarization (left- and right-handed) antenna links recorded 1922 h of reflection events during the 20-day cruise of the ship. The antenna setup, mounted 25.0 m above the waterline, serves to acquire sea surface reflections at grazing angles below 30°. Within a 5-min coherent integration period, direct and reflected signal contributions can be separated. Except for the highest sea states, with roll angle changes of 20° peak to peak, the separation allows to retrieve the reflection power and quantifies it in cross-, co-, and cross-to-co-polar ratios. The sea-ice concentration is inverted from power ratios using a ...