Retrieval of Firn Thickness by Means of Polarisation Phase Differences in L-Band SAR Data
The knowledge of glacier zones’ extent and their temporal variations is fundamental for the retrieval of surface mass balance of glaciers and ice sheets. In this context, a key parameter is the firn line (FL), the lower boundary of the percolation zone, whose location is an indicator of time-integra...
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MDPI AG
2021
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e1025195a88c4d41bc494c28ecfd1ecd 2023-05-15T16:21:25+02:00 Retrieval of Firn Thickness by Means of Polarisation Phase Differences in L-Band SAR Data Giuseppe Parrella Irena Hajnsek Konstantinos P. Papathanassiou 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13214448 https://doaj.org/article/e1025195a88c4d41bc494c28ecfd1ecd EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/21/4448 https://doaj.org/toc/2072-4292 doi:10.3390/rs13214448 2072-4292 https://doaj.org/article/e1025195a88c4d41bc494c28ecfd1ecd Remote Sensing, Vol 13, Iss 4448, p 4448 (2021) Synthetic Aperture Radar polarimetry differential propagation firn anisotropy Greenland Science Q article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13214448 2022-12-31T16:17:40Z The knowledge of glacier zones’ extent and their temporal variations is fundamental for the retrieval of surface mass balance of glaciers and ice sheets. In this context, a key parameter is the firn line (FL), the lower boundary of the percolation zone, whose location is an indicator of time-integrated mass balance changes. Several approaches have been developed in the last decades to map the FL by means of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, mainly exploiting backscatter intensities and their seasonal variation. In this paper, an alternative approach is proposed, based on co-polarisation phase differences (CPDs). In particular, CPDs are interpreted as the result of propagation through anisotropic firn layers and are, therefore, proposed as an indicator of the presence of firn. A model is employed to demonstrate the link between CPDs and firn depth, indicating the potential of polarimetric SAR to improve firn characterization beyond spatial extent and FL detection. The proposed approach is demonstrated on L-band airborne data, acquired on 21 May 2015 by the F-SAR sensor of DLR in West Greenland during the ARCTIC15 campaign, and validated with in-situ information available from other studies. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Greenland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Remote Sensing 13 21 4448 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Synthetic Aperture Radar polarimetry differential propagation firn anisotropy Greenland Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Synthetic Aperture Radar polarimetry differential propagation firn anisotropy Greenland Science Q Giuseppe Parrella Irena Hajnsek Konstantinos P. Papathanassiou Retrieval of Firn Thickness by Means of Polarisation Phase Differences in L-Band SAR Data |
topic_facet |
Synthetic Aperture Radar polarimetry differential propagation firn anisotropy Greenland Science Q |
description |
The knowledge of glacier zones’ extent and their temporal variations is fundamental for the retrieval of surface mass balance of glaciers and ice sheets. In this context, a key parameter is the firn line (FL), the lower boundary of the percolation zone, whose location is an indicator of time-integrated mass balance changes. Several approaches have been developed in the last decades to map the FL by means of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, mainly exploiting backscatter intensities and their seasonal variation. In this paper, an alternative approach is proposed, based on co-polarisation phase differences (CPDs). In particular, CPDs are interpreted as the result of propagation through anisotropic firn layers and are, therefore, proposed as an indicator of the presence of firn. A model is employed to demonstrate the link between CPDs and firn depth, indicating the potential of polarimetric SAR to improve firn characterization beyond spatial extent and FL detection. The proposed approach is demonstrated on L-band airborne data, acquired on 21 May 2015 by the F-SAR sensor of DLR in West Greenland during the ARCTIC15 campaign, and validated with in-situ information available from other studies. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Giuseppe Parrella Irena Hajnsek Konstantinos P. Papathanassiou |
author_facet |
Giuseppe Parrella Irena Hajnsek Konstantinos P. Papathanassiou |
author_sort |
Giuseppe Parrella |
title |
Retrieval of Firn Thickness by Means of Polarisation Phase Differences in L-Band SAR Data |
title_short |
Retrieval of Firn Thickness by Means of Polarisation Phase Differences in L-Band SAR Data |
title_full |
Retrieval of Firn Thickness by Means of Polarisation Phase Differences in L-Band SAR Data |
title_fullStr |
Retrieval of Firn Thickness by Means of Polarisation Phase Differences in L-Band SAR Data |
title_full_unstemmed |
Retrieval of Firn Thickness by Means of Polarisation Phase Differences in L-Band SAR Data |
title_sort |
retrieval of firn thickness by means of polarisation phase differences in l-band sar data |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13214448 https://doaj.org/article/e1025195a88c4d41bc494c28ecfd1ecd |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
glacier Greenland |
genre_facet |
glacier Greenland |
op_source |
Remote Sensing, Vol 13, Iss 4448, p 4448 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/21/4448 https://doaj.org/toc/2072-4292 doi:10.3390/rs13214448 2072-4292 https://doaj.org/article/e1025195a88c4d41bc494c28ecfd1ecd |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13214448 |
container_title |
Remote Sensing |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
21 |
container_start_page |
4448 |
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1766009419087216640 |