Wind Transport of Snow Impacts Ka- and Ku-band Radar Signatures on Arctic Sea Ice
Wind transport alters the snow topography and microstructure on sea ice through snow redistribution controlled by deposition and erosion. The impact of these processes on radar signatures is poorly understood. Here, we examine the effects of snow redistribution on Arctic sea ice from Ka- and Ku-band...
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ftinfoscience:oai:infoscience.epfl.ch:300893 2023-07-30T04:01:40+02:00 Wind Transport of Snow Impacts Ka- and Ku-band Radar Signatures on Arctic Sea Ice Nandan, Vishnu Willat, Rosemary Mallett, Robbie Stroeve, Julienne Geldsetzer, Torsten Scharien, Randall Tonboe, Rasmus Landy, Jack Clemens-Sewall, David Jutila, Arttu Wagner, David Nicholas Krampe, Daniela Huntemann, Marcus Yackel, John Mahmud, Mallik Jensen, David Newman, Thomas Hendricks, Stefan Spreen, Gunnar Macfarlane, Amy R. Schneebeli, Martin Mead, James Ricker, Robert Gallagher, Michael Duguay, Claude Raphael, Ian Polashenski, Chris Tsamados, Michel Matero, Ilkka Hoppmann, Mario 2023-03-10T16:16:40Z http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-116 https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893/files/tc-2022-116.pdf https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893/files/tc-17-2211-2023.pdf unknown http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893 doi:10.5194/tc-2022-116 ISI:001000376600001 https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893/files/tc-2022-116.pdf https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893/files/tc-17-2211-2023.pdf http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893 Text 2023 ftinfoscience https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-116 2023-07-16T23:45:43Z Wind transport alters the snow topography and microstructure on sea ice through snow redistribution controlled by deposition and erosion. The impact of these processes on radar signatures is poorly understood. Here, we examine the effects of snow redistribution on Arctic sea ice from Ka- and Ku-band radar signatures. Measurements were obtained during two wind events in November 2019 during the MOSAiC expedition. During both events, changes in Ka- and Ku-band radar waveforms and backscatter coincident with surface height changes measured from a terrestrial laser scanner are observed. At both frequencies, snow redistribution events increased the dominance of the air/snow interface at nadir as the dominant radar scattering surface, due to wind densifying the snow surface and uppermost layers. The radar waveform data also detect the presence of previous air/snow interfaces, buried beneath newly deposited snow. The additional scattering from previous air/snow interfaces could therefore affect the range retrieved from Ka- and Ku-band satellite radar altimeters. The relative scattering contribution of the air/snow interface decreases, and the snow/sea ice interface increases with increasing incidence angles. Relative to pre-wind conditions, azimuthally averaged backscatter at nadir during the wind events increases by up to 8 dB (Ka-band) and 5 dB (Ku-band). Binned backscatter within 5° azimuth bins reveals substantial backscatter variability in the radar footprint at all incidence angles and polarizations. The sensitivity of the co-polarized phase difference is linked to changes in snow settling and temperature-gradient induced grain metamorphism, demonstrating the potential of the radar to discriminate between newly deposited and older snow on sea ice. Our results reveal the importance of wind, through its geophysical impact on Ka- and Ku-band radar signatures of snow on sea ice and has implications for reliable interpretation of airborne and satellite radar measurements of snow-covered sea ice. Text Arctic Sea ice EPFL Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne) Arctic |
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Open Polar |
collection |
EPFL Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne) |
op_collection_id |
ftinfoscience |
language |
unknown |
description |
Wind transport alters the snow topography and microstructure on sea ice through snow redistribution controlled by deposition and erosion. The impact of these processes on radar signatures is poorly understood. Here, we examine the effects of snow redistribution on Arctic sea ice from Ka- and Ku-band radar signatures. Measurements were obtained during two wind events in November 2019 during the MOSAiC expedition. During both events, changes in Ka- and Ku-band radar waveforms and backscatter coincident with surface height changes measured from a terrestrial laser scanner are observed. At both frequencies, snow redistribution events increased the dominance of the air/snow interface at nadir as the dominant radar scattering surface, due to wind densifying the snow surface and uppermost layers. The radar waveform data also detect the presence of previous air/snow interfaces, buried beneath newly deposited snow. The additional scattering from previous air/snow interfaces could therefore affect the range retrieved from Ka- and Ku-band satellite radar altimeters. The relative scattering contribution of the air/snow interface decreases, and the snow/sea ice interface increases with increasing incidence angles. Relative to pre-wind conditions, azimuthally averaged backscatter at nadir during the wind events increases by up to 8 dB (Ka-band) and 5 dB (Ku-band). Binned backscatter within 5° azimuth bins reveals substantial backscatter variability in the radar footprint at all incidence angles and polarizations. The sensitivity of the co-polarized phase difference is linked to changes in snow settling and temperature-gradient induced grain metamorphism, demonstrating the potential of the radar to discriminate between newly deposited and older snow on sea ice. Our results reveal the importance of wind, through its geophysical impact on Ka- and Ku-band radar signatures of snow on sea ice and has implications for reliable interpretation of airborne and satellite radar measurements of snow-covered sea ice. |
format |
Text |
author |
Nandan, Vishnu Willat, Rosemary Mallett, Robbie Stroeve, Julienne Geldsetzer, Torsten Scharien, Randall Tonboe, Rasmus Landy, Jack Clemens-Sewall, David Jutila, Arttu Wagner, David Nicholas Krampe, Daniela Huntemann, Marcus Yackel, John Mahmud, Mallik Jensen, David Newman, Thomas Hendricks, Stefan Spreen, Gunnar Macfarlane, Amy R. Schneebeli, Martin Mead, James Ricker, Robert Gallagher, Michael Duguay, Claude Raphael, Ian Polashenski, Chris Tsamados, Michel Matero, Ilkka Hoppmann, Mario |
spellingShingle |
Nandan, Vishnu Willat, Rosemary Mallett, Robbie Stroeve, Julienne Geldsetzer, Torsten Scharien, Randall Tonboe, Rasmus Landy, Jack Clemens-Sewall, David Jutila, Arttu Wagner, David Nicholas Krampe, Daniela Huntemann, Marcus Yackel, John Mahmud, Mallik Jensen, David Newman, Thomas Hendricks, Stefan Spreen, Gunnar Macfarlane, Amy R. Schneebeli, Martin Mead, James Ricker, Robert Gallagher, Michael Duguay, Claude Raphael, Ian Polashenski, Chris Tsamados, Michel Matero, Ilkka Hoppmann, Mario Wind Transport of Snow Impacts Ka- and Ku-band Radar Signatures on Arctic Sea Ice |
author_facet |
Nandan, Vishnu Willat, Rosemary Mallett, Robbie Stroeve, Julienne Geldsetzer, Torsten Scharien, Randall Tonboe, Rasmus Landy, Jack Clemens-Sewall, David Jutila, Arttu Wagner, David Nicholas Krampe, Daniela Huntemann, Marcus Yackel, John Mahmud, Mallik Jensen, David Newman, Thomas Hendricks, Stefan Spreen, Gunnar Macfarlane, Amy R. Schneebeli, Martin Mead, James Ricker, Robert Gallagher, Michael Duguay, Claude Raphael, Ian Polashenski, Chris Tsamados, Michel Matero, Ilkka Hoppmann, Mario |
author_sort |
Nandan, Vishnu |
title |
Wind Transport of Snow Impacts Ka- and Ku-band Radar Signatures on Arctic Sea Ice |
title_short |
Wind Transport of Snow Impacts Ka- and Ku-band Radar Signatures on Arctic Sea Ice |
title_full |
Wind Transport of Snow Impacts Ka- and Ku-band Radar Signatures on Arctic Sea Ice |
title_fullStr |
Wind Transport of Snow Impacts Ka- and Ku-band Radar Signatures on Arctic Sea Ice |
title_full_unstemmed |
Wind Transport of Snow Impacts Ka- and Ku-band Radar Signatures on Arctic Sea Ice |
title_sort |
wind transport of snow impacts ka- and ku-band radar signatures on arctic sea ice |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-116 https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893/files/tc-2022-116.pdf https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893/files/tc-17-2211-2023.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Sea ice |
op_source |
http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893 |
op_relation |
http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893 doi:10.5194/tc-2022-116 ISI:001000376600001 https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893/files/tc-2022-116.pdf https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/300893/files/tc-17-2211-2023.pdf |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-116 |
_version_ |
1772812439587389440 |