The sensitivity of satellite microwave observations to liquid water in the Antarctic snowpack
Surface melting on the Antarctic Ice Sheet has been monitored by satellite microwave radiometry for over 40 years. Despite this long perspective, our understanding of the microwave emission from wet snow is still limited, preventing the full exploitation of these observations to study supraglacial h...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ea88cd54f54d4ba18934e27d9b32c8be 2023-05-15T14:04:16+02:00 The sensitivity of satellite microwave observations to liquid water in the Antarctic snowpack G. Picard M. Leduc-Leballeur A. F. Banwell L. Brucker G. Macelloni 2022-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5061-2022 https://doaj.org/article/ea88cd54f54d4ba18934e27d9b32c8be EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/5061/2022/tc-16-5061-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-16-5061-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/ea88cd54f54d4ba18934e27d9b32c8be The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 5061-5083 (2022) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5061-2022 2022-12-30T20:52:59Z Surface melting on the Antarctic Ice Sheet has been monitored by satellite microwave radiometry for over 40 years. Despite this long perspective, our understanding of the microwave emission from wet snow is still limited, preventing the full exploitation of these observations to study supraglacial hydrology. Using the Snow Microwave Radiative Transfer (SMRT) model, this study investigates the sensitivity of microwave brightness temperature to snow liquid water content at frequencies from 1.4 to 37 GHz . We first determine the snowpack properties for eight selected coastal sites by retrieving profiles of density, grain size and ice layers from microwave observations when the snowpack is dry during wintertime. Second, a series of brightness temperature simulations is run with added water. The results show that (i) a small quantity of liquid water ( ≈0.5 kg m −2 ) can be detected, but the actual quantity cannot be retrieved out of the full range of possible water quantities; (ii) the detection of a buried wet layer is possible up to a maximum depth of 1 to 6 m depending on the frequency (6–37 GHz ) and on the snow properties (grain size, density) at each site; (iii) surface ponds and water-saturated areas may prevent melt detection, but the current coverage of these waterbodies in the large satellite field of view is presently too small in Antarctica to have noticeable effects; and (iv) at 1.4 GHz , while the simulations are less reliable, we found a weaker sensitivity to liquid water and the maximal depth of detection is relatively shallow ( <10 m ) compared to the typical radiation penetration depth in dry firn ( ≈1000 m ) at this low frequency. These numerical results pave the way for the development of improved multi-frequency algorithms to detect melt intensity and the depth of liquid water below the surface in the Antarctic snowpack. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic The Antarctic The Cryosphere 16 12 5061 5083 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 G. Picard M. Leduc-Leballeur A. F. Banwell L. Brucker G. Macelloni The sensitivity of satellite microwave observations to liquid water in the Antarctic snowpack |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Surface melting on the Antarctic Ice Sheet has been monitored by satellite microwave radiometry for over 40 years. Despite this long perspective, our understanding of the microwave emission from wet snow is still limited, preventing the full exploitation of these observations to study supraglacial hydrology. Using the Snow Microwave Radiative Transfer (SMRT) model, this study investigates the sensitivity of microwave brightness temperature to snow liquid water content at frequencies from 1.4 to 37 GHz . We first determine the snowpack properties for eight selected coastal sites by retrieving profiles of density, grain size and ice layers from microwave observations when the snowpack is dry during wintertime. Second, a series of brightness temperature simulations is run with added water. The results show that (i) a small quantity of liquid water ( ≈0.5 kg m −2 ) can be detected, but the actual quantity cannot be retrieved out of the full range of possible water quantities; (ii) the detection of a buried wet layer is possible up to a maximum depth of 1 to 6 m depending on the frequency (6–37 GHz ) and on the snow properties (grain size, density) at each site; (iii) surface ponds and water-saturated areas may prevent melt detection, but the current coverage of these waterbodies in the large satellite field of view is presently too small in Antarctica to have noticeable effects; and (iv) at 1.4 GHz , while the simulations are less reliable, we found a weaker sensitivity to liquid water and the maximal depth of detection is relatively shallow ( <10 m ) compared to the typical radiation penetration depth in dry firn ( ≈1000 m ) at this low frequency. These numerical results pave the way for the development of improved multi-frequency algorithms to detect melt intensity and the depth of liquid water below the surface in the Antarctic snowpack. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
G. Picard M. Leduc-Leballeur A. F. Banwell L. Brucker G. Macelloni |
author_facet |
G. Picard M. Leduc-Leballeur A. F. Banwell L. Brucker G. Macelloni |
author_sort |
G. Picard |
title |
The sensitivity of satellite microwave observations to liquid water in the Antarctic snowpack |
title_short |
The sensitivity of satellite microwave observations to liquid water in the Antarctic snowpack |
title_full |
The sensitivity of satellite microwave observations to liquid water in the Antarctic snowpack |
title_fullStr |
The sensitivity of satellite microwave observations to liquid water in the Antarctic snowpack |
title_full_unstemmed |
The sensitivity of satellite microwave observations to liquid water in the Antarctic snowpack |
title_sort |
sensitivity of satellite microwave observations to liquid water in the antarctic snowpack |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5061-2022 https://doaj.org/article/ea88cd54f54d4ba18934e27d9b32c8be |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 5061-5083 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/5061/2022/tc-16-5061-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-16-5061-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/ea88cd54f54d4ba18934e27d9b32c8be |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5061-2022 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
5061 |
op_container_end_page |
5083 |
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1766275296052379648 |