Automated ice-sheet snowmelt detection using microwave radiometer measurements

Monitoring ice-sheet snowmelt is fundamental to understanding global climate change. A simple and automated snowmelt detection process is critical to the establishment of an ice-sheet snowmelt monitoring system. However, different ice-sheet snowmelt detection methods are based on a variety of thresh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Research
Main Authors: Liang, Lei, Guo, Huadong, Li, Xinwu, Cheng, Xiao
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Norwegian Polar Institute 2013
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Online Access:https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/3081
https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v32i0.19746
Description
Summary:Monitoring ice-sheet snowmelt is fundamental to understanding global climate change. A simple and automated snowmelt detection process is critical to the establishment of an ice-sheet snowmelt monitoring system. However, different ice-sheet snowmelt detection methods are based on a variety of thresholding schemes using different melt signals for dry and wet snow; these complicate the regular operation of an ice-sheet snowmelt monitoring. We propose an automated melt signal detection method developed using melt signals derived from the cross-gradient polarization ratio snowmelt detection method over Greenland and the wavelet transformation-based snowmelt detection method over Antarctica. Initial results indicate that the proposed method not only increases computational efficiency, practicability and operability but is also more accurate.Keywords: Ice sheet; snowmelt detection; radiometer; cross-gradient polarization ratio; wavelet transformation; generalized Gaussian model.(Published: 27 December 2013)To access the supplementary material for this article, please see Supplementary files in the column to the right (under Article Tools)Citation: Polar Research 2013, 32, 19746, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/polar.v32i0.19746