Impact of spatial averaging on radar reflectivity at internal snowpack layer boundaries
Microwave radar amplitude within a snowpack can be strongly influenced by spatial variability of internal layer boundaries. We quantify the impact of spatial averaging of snow stratigraphy and physical snowpack properties on surface scattering from near-nadir frequency-modulated continuous-wave rada...
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Cambridge University Press
2016
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.99 https://doaj.org/article/a1d104fa22d8443d83f4210767a8d6ac |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:a1d104fa22d8443d83f4210767a8d6ac 2023-05-15T16:57:35+02:00 Impact of spatial averaging on radar reflectivity at internal snowpack layer boundaries N. RUTTER H.-P. MARSHALL K. TAPE R. ESSERY J. KING 2016-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.99 https://doaj.org/article/a1d104fa22d8443d83f4210767a8d6ac EN eng Cambridge University Press https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S002214301600099X/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0022-1430 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5652 doi:10.1017/jog.2016.99 0022-1430 1727-5652 https://doaj.org/article/a1d104fa22d8443d83f4210767a8d6ac Journal of Glaciology, Vol 62, Pp 1065-1074 (2016) radar remote sensing snow microstructure snow stratigraphy spatial variability Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.99 2023-03-12T01:30:59Z Microwave radar amplitude within a snowpack can be strongly influenced by spatial variability of internal layer boundaries. We quantify the impact of spatial averaging of snow stratigraphy and physical snowpack properties on surface scattering from near-nadir frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar at 12–18 GHz. Relative permittivity, density, grain size and stratigraphic boundaries were measured in-situ at high resolution along the length of a 9 m snow trench. An optimal range of horizontal averaging (4–6 m) was identified to attribute variations in surface scattering at layer boundaries to dielectric contrasts estimated from centimetre-scale measurements of snowpack stratigraphy and bulk layer properties. Single vertical profiles of snowpack properties seldom captured the complex local variability influencing near-nadir radar surface scattering. We discuss implications of scaling in-situ measurements for snow radiative transfer modelling and evaluation of airborne microwave remote sensing of snow. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Journal of Glaciology 62 236 1065 1074 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
radar remote sensing snow microstructure snow stratigraphy spatial variability Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
spellingShingle |
radar remote sensing snow microstructure snow stratigraphy spatial variability Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 N. RUTTER H.-P. MARSHALL K. TAPE R. ESSERY J. KING Impact of spatial averaging on radar reflectivity at internal snowpack layer boundaries |
topic_facet |
radar remote sensing snow microstructure snow stratigraphy spatial variability Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
description |
Microwave radar amplitude within a snowpack can be strongly influenced by spatial variability of internal layer boundaries. We quantify the impact of spatial averaging of snow stratigraphy and physical snowpack properties on surface scattering from near-nadir frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar at 12–18 GHz. Relative permittivity, density, grain size and stratigraphic boundaries were measured in-situ at high resolution along the length of a 9 m snow trench. An optimal range of horizontal averaging (4–6 m) was identified to attribute variations in surface scattering at layer boundaries to dielectric contrasts estimated from centimetre-scale measurements of snowpack stratigraphy and bulk layer properties. Single vertical profiles of snowpack properties seldom captured the complex local variability influencing near-nadir radar surface scattering. We discuss implications of scaling in-situ measurements for snow radiative transfer modelling and evaluation of airborne microwave remote sensing of snow. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
N. RUTTER H.-P. MARSHALL K. TAPE R. ESSERY J. KING |
author_facet |
N. RUTTER H.-P. MARSHALL K. TAPE R. ESSERY J. KING |
author_sort |
N. RUTTER |
title |
Impact of spatial averaging on radar reflectivity at internal snowpack layer boundaries |
title_short |
Impact of spatial averaging on radar reflectivity at internal snowpack layer boundaries |
title_full |
Impact of spatial averaging on radar reflectivity at internal snowpack layer boundaries |
title_fullStr |
Impact of spatial averaging on radar reflectivity at internal snowpack layer boundaries |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impact of spatial averaging on radar reflectivity at internal snowpack layer boundaries |
title_sort |
impact of spatial averaging on radar reflectivity at internal snowpack layer boundaries |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.99 https://doaj.org/article/a1d104fa22d8443d83f4210767a8d6ac |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology, Vol 62, Pp 1065-1074 (2016) |
op_relation |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S002214301600099X/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0022-1430 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5652 doi:10.1017/jog.2016.99 0022-1430 1727-5652 https://doaj.org/article/a1d104fa22d8443d83f4210767a8d6ac |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.99 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
62 |
container_issue |
236 |
container_start_page |
1065 |
op_container_end_page |
1074 |
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1766049151915655168 |