Ku- and Ka-band polarimetric radar backscatter of Arctic sea ice between October 2019 and September 2020 - VERSION 2.0 ...

• Main Authors: Stroeve, Julienne, Nandan, Vishnu, Tonboe, Rasmus, Hendricks, Stefan, Ricker, Robert, Spreen, Gunnar
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre 2022
• Subjects: "EARTH SCIENCE","CRYOSPHERE","SEA ICE","ICE DEPTH/THICKNESS"; "EARTH SCIENCE","CRYOSPHERE","SEA ICE","ICE FLOES"; "EARTH SCIENCE","CRYOSPHERE","SEA ICE","SNOW DEPTH"; "EARTH SCIENCE","OCEANS","SEA ICE","ICE DEPTH/THICKNESS"; "EARTH SCIENCE","OCEANS","SEA ICE","ICE FLOES"; "EARTH SCIENCE","OCEANS","SEA ICE","SNOW DEPTH"; Arctic; MOSAiC; backscatter; polarimetry; radar; scatterometry; sea ice; snow; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5285/0caf5c54-9a40-4a96-a39b-b5c9c2863271; https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01486

This data set provides processed Ku- and Ka-band fully-polarimetric backscatter and derived polarimetric parameters from hourly scans, acquired using the KuKa radar, during Legs 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the 2019-2020 MOSAiC International Arctic Drift Expedition. Scans were acquired during winter (Legs 1 and 2), advanced melt (Leg 4) and freeze-up (Leg 5) seasons, from various Remote Sensing (RS) sites, located in the MOSAiC ice floe. The first deployment of the KuKa radar was on 18 October 2019 at RS1 site and the radar was retreated (due to ice break up) on 18th November. The radar was redeployed on 29th November at RS2 site until 13th December when cracks were observed at the site and the instrument was turned off and moved to a safe location. The radar was redeployed at RS3 site and started measuring again on 21st December 2019 until 31st January 2020, after which the radar was taken off the RS site to conduct maintenance. The radar was not operational during Leg 3. During Leg 4, the radar was operational between ... : During data acquisition, the KuKa radar acquires data on a series of six signal states: the four transmit polarization combinations (VV, HH, HV and VH), a calibration loop signal and a noise signal. Each data block consists of these six signals and are processed separately for each frequency. Data are processed into range profiles of the complex received voltage, through fast fourier transform (FFT). The range profiles for each polarization combination are power-averaged in azimuth for each incidence angle. Both the Ka- and Ku-band scatterometer beam scans at the programmed incidence angle, moving across the azimuth within a prescribed azimuthal angular width. The system then moves up to the next incidence angle, at 5 degree increments, and scans the next elevation line along the same azimuthal angular width. A new file is generated each time the positioner begins a scan. The footprint of the KuKa radar during one complete scan is a function Ku- and Ka-band antenna beamwidth, and the system geometry, with ...