Microwave maps of the polar ice of the earth

• Main Authors: Nordberg, W., Gloersen, P., Wilheit, T. T., Campbell, W. J., Chang, T. C.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1973
• Subjects: GEOPHYSICS; Antarctic; Greenland; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; ice pack; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19740002260

Synoptic views of the entire polar regions of earth were obtained free of the usual persistent cloud cover using a scanning microwave radiometer operating at a wavelength of 1.55 cm on board the Nimbus-5 satellite. Three different views at each pole are presented utilizing data obtained at approximately one-month intervals during the winter of 1972-1973. The major discoveries resulting from an analysis of these data are as follows: (1) Large discrepancies exist between the climatic norm ice cover depicted in various atlases and the actual extent of the canopies. (2) The distribution of multiyear ice in the north polar region is markedly different from that predicted by existing ice dynamics models. (3) Irregularities in the edge of the Antarctic sea ice pack occur that have neither been observed previously nor anticipated. (4) The brightness temperatures of the Greenland and Antarctica glaciers show interesting contours probably related to the ice and snow morphologic structure.