Towards Sea Ice Remote Sensing with Space Detected GPS Signals: Demonstration of Technical Feasibility and Initial Consistency Check Using Low Resolution Sea Ice Information

• Published in: Remote Sensing
• Main Author: Scott Gleason
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2010
• Subjects: ice sensing; sea ice; ice concentration; GPS; GNSS; GNSS-R; bistatic radar; Science; Q; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs2082017; https://doaj.org/article/e44809c3258d49be9d8c54cd7d677019

This paper presents two space detected Global Positioning System (GPS)signals reflected off sea ice and compares the returned power profiles with independent estimates of ice concentration provided by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) and sea ice charts from the National Ice Center. The results of the analysis show significantly different signals received for each of the GPS reflections. For the first collection,comparisons with ice concentration estimates from AMSR-E and the National Ice Centers reveal a very strong GPS signal return off high concentration sea ice. The second GPS data collection occurs over a region of changing sea ice concentration, and the GPS signal level responds at roughly the same point that the AMSR-E data and National Ice Center charts indicate a change in ice concentration. However, the very strong signal of the first GPS collection is not consistent in magnitude with similar ice concentrations during the secondGPS data collection. This demonstration shows the potential and the difficulties of this new technique as a valuable low-cost compliment to existing sea ice monitoring instruments. Additionally, a general method for calculating the location of the specular reflection point on the Earth’s surface and the received Doppler frequencies and code phase delays is presented as part of an on-board open-loop signal tracking technique.