Towards a common terminology in radioglaciology

• Published in: Annals of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Rebecca Schlegel, Bernd Kulessa, Tavi Murray, Olaf Eisen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 2022
• Subjects: Airborne electromagnetic soundings; applied glaciology; glacier geophysics; ground-penetrating radar; radio-echo sounding; Meteorology. Climatology; QC851-999; Annals of Glaciology
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2023.2; https://doaj.org/article/71d6cbcb800c442d8d89e168f1d6ed3f

Over the past 70 years, many different components of the cryosphere have been imaged with a variety of radar systems using increasingly sophisticated processing techniques. These systems use various pulse lengths, signal frequencies and, in some cases, modulated signals. The increasing diversity of radar systems has created the potential for confusion due to the use of non-consistent terminology. Here we provide an overview of state-of-the-science radar technologies and suggest a simplified and unified terminology for use by the cryosphere community. We recommend a terminology that is target independent but specifies the characteristics of the signal. Following this recommendation, commercial impulse systems that penetrate the subsurface should be referred to as ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and pulse radars as radio-echo sounding (RES). Continuous-wave (CW) radar systems should be referred to as ground-penetrating CW radars. We further suggest any additional characterisation of the system be expressed using descriptors that specify the platform it is mounted on (e.g. airborne) or the frequency range (e.g. HF (high frequency)) or modulation (e.g. FM (frequency modulated)).