Airborne Altimetry Measurements in the Arctic Using a Compact Multi-Band Radar System: Initial Results
We developed an airborne radar system capable of simultaneous operation at Ku- and Ka- bands. The system is compact and lightweight, and supports coincident altimetry measurements in both bands with ultra-wide bandwidth (up to 6 GHz). Wide-band data can be used to obtain fine vertical resolution or...
Published in: | IGARSS 2020 - 2020 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium |
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Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
IEEE
2020
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/da2a9952-4e26-46a0-852a-09bdbb480e54 https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS39084.2020.9323804 |
Summary: | We developed an airborne radar system capable of simultaneous operation at Ku- and Ka- bands. The system is compact and lightweight, and supports coincident altimetry measurements in both bands with ultra-wide bandwidth (up to 6 GHz). Wide-band data can be used to obtain fine vertical resolution or sub-banded to match the operational parameters of orbital instruments. We installed the system onboard a Twin Otter aircraft and collected data over the East Greenland ice sheet margin and on Arctic marine ice during a test field campaign conducted in the summer of 2019. The work was carried as an international collaboration to support the validation of ESA's CryoSat-2 and NASA's ICESat-2 measurements. In this paper, we present an overview of the instrument and its airborne test configuration and field operation; provide initial results from field trials; and outline the potential application of dual-band airborne radar data for the validation of satellite instruments. |
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