Sea Ice Altimetry

• Main Authors: Fetterer, Florence M., Drinkwater, Mark R., Jezek, Kenneth C., Laxon, Seymour W., Onstott, Robert G.
• Other Authors: NAVAL RESEARCH LAB STENNIS SPACE CENTER MS
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1992
• Subjects: Snow; Ice and Permafrost; Test Facilities; Equipment and Methods; Navigation and Guidance; *ALTIMETERS; *SEA ICE; *HEIGHT FINDING; REPRINTS; MEASUREMENT; MICROWAVES; RADAR; SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR; ICE; OPEN WATER; SCATTEROMETERS; REMOTE DETECTION; ECHOES; PULSES; ARTIFICIAL SATELLITES; SAMPLING; RADIOMETERS; OCEANS; PE63604N; WUDN251020; REMOTE SENSING; AVHRR(ADVANCED VERY HIGH RESOLUTION RADIOMETERS); Ice; permafrost; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA264329; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA264329

Using altimeter data for quantitative information about sea ice is an idea with relatively few proponents. Often the poor spatial sampling given by the altimeter's single-point measurements along widely spaced ground tracks and the difficulty of interpreting altimeter pulse echoes over ice are cited as reasons to avoid altimetry. It is becoming evident, however, that altimetry may be able to make unique measurements. For instance, the altimeter data record reveals the presence of small areas of open water within the pack at concentrations too low to be detected by a passive microwave sensor such as a Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/1) and too small to be resolved by satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Remote sensing, Synthetic aperture radar, Altimeter, Scatterometer. Original contains color plates: All DTIC reproductions will be in black and white.