P-sounder: an airborne P-band ice sounding radar

• Published in: 2007 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium
• Main Authors: Dall, Jørgen, Skou, Niels, Kusk, Anders, Kristensen, Steen Savstrup, Krozer, Viktor
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 2007
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctic; Greenland; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/b567fdd1-b99f-4b4e-886e-4c8f88e1bfa5; https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS.2007.4423783; https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/files/3891744/Dall.pdf

This paper presents the top-level design of an airborne, P-band ice sounding radar under development at the Technical University of Denmark. The ice sounder is intended to provide more information on the electromagnetic properties of the Antarctic ice sheet at P-band. A secondary objective is to test new ice sounding techniques, e.g. polarimetry, synthetic aperture processing, and coherent clutter suppression. A system analysis involving ice scattering models confirms that it is feasible to detect the bedrock through 4 km of ice and to detect deep ice layers. The ice sounder design features a digital signal generator, a microstrip antenna array, a conventional RF-architecture with a central transmitter, four receivers, and internal calibration loops. In 2008 the first data acquisition campaign will take place in Greenland.