Radar Altimetric Studies of Polar Ice
Active microwave sensors are known to provide valuable information regarding snow and ice surfaces in the polar regions, where darkness and cloud cover prevail. Here, data collected in the Arctic by a Ku-band microwave radar altimeter, designed and constructed in the UK, are analysed. The two main c...
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ftdatacite:10.17863/cam.14165 2023-05-15T15:07:42+02:00 Radar Altimetric Studies of Polar Ice Drinkwater, Mark Roland 1987 https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.14165 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/268053 en eng Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository All Rights Reserved https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/ Text Thesis article-journal ScholarlyArticle 1987 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.17863/cam.14165 2021-11-05T12:55:41Z Active microwave sensors are known to provide valuable information regarding snow and ice surfaces in the polar regions, where darkness and cloud cover prevail. Here, data collected in the Arctic by a Ku-band microwave radar altimeter, designed and constructed in the UK, are analysed. The two main components of this study comprise data gathered in the East Greenland Sea marginal ice zone and over two Svalbard ice caps. A systematic treatment is made of the electromagnetic properties of snow and ice at 13.81 GHz, and the differences between various polar surface media are highlighted. Theoretical and empirical models are presented which enable calculation of the relevant dielectric and scattering properties of snow and ice layers. Parametric studies are undertaken to give insight into the range of scattering conditions likely to be encountered by a radar altimeter in the regions investigated. Examples of altimetric data and results of their analysis are presented, demonstrating the effects of different ice types and terrain upon incident altimeter pulses. Waveforms are characterised by their shape, and certain forms are linked with particular physical properties of the surface. To this a variety of supporting information is added in order to verify and validate interpretations of these results. Algorithms are proposed which enable geophysical information to be derived from altimetric data. Thesis Arctic East Greenland Greenland Greenland Sea Svalbard DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) Arctic Greenland Svalbard |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
op_collection_id |
ftdatacite |
language |
English |
description |
Active microwave sensors are known to provide valuable information regarding snow and ice surfaces in the polar regions, where darkness and cloud cover prevail. Here, data collected in the Arctic by a Ku-band microwave radar altimeter, designed and constructed in the UK, are analysed. The two main components of this study comprise data gathered in the East Greenland Sea marginal ice zone and over two Svalbard ice caps. A systematic treatment is made of the electromagnetic properties of snow and ice at 13.81 GHz, and the differences between various polar surface media are highlighted. Theoretical and empirical models are presented which enable calculation of the relevant dielectric and scattering properties of snow and ice layers. Parametric studies are undertaken to give insight into the range of scattering conditions likely to be encountered by a radar altimeter in the regions investigated. Examples of altimetric data and results of their analysis are presented, demonstrating the effects of different ice types and terrain upon incident altimeter pulses. Waveforms are characterised by their shape, and certain forms are linked with particular physical properties of the surface. To this a variety of supporting information is added in order to verify and validate interpretations of these results. Algorithms are proposed which enable geophysical information to be derived from altimetric data. |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Drinkwater, Mark Roland |
spellingShingle |
Drinkwater, Mark Roland Radar Altimetric Studies of Polar Ice |
author_facet |
Drinkwater, Mark Roland |
author_sort |
Drinkwater, Mark Roland |
title |
Radar Altimetric Studies of Polar Ice |
title_short |
Radar Altimetric Studies of Polar Ice |
title_full |
Radar Altimetric Studies of Polar Ice |
title_fullStr |
Radar Altimetric Studies of Polar Ice |
title_full_unstemmed |
Radar Altimetric Studies of Polar Ice |
title_sort |
radar altimetric studies of polar ice |
publisher |
Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository |
publishDate |
1987 |
url |
https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.14165 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/268053 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic East Greenland Greenland Greenland Sea Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic East Greenland Greenland Greenland Sea Svalbard |
op_rights |
All Rights Reserved https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17863/cam.14165 |
_version_ |
1766339143950925824 |