Inversion for the density-depth profile of polar firn using a stepped-frequency radar
Translating satellite measurements of ice sheet volume change into sea level contribution requires knowledge of the profile of density as a function of depth within the ice sheet, and how this profile changes over time. This paper describes an interferometric method of inverting ground-penetrating r...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface |
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Language: | English |
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American Geophysical Union
2013
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/19296/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/19296/1/jgrf20089.pdf |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:19296 2023-05-15T16:29:19+02:00 Inversion for the density-depth profile of polar firn using a stepped-frequency radar Arthern, Robert J. Corr, Hugh F.J. Gillet-Chaulet, Fabien Hawley, Robert L. Morris, Elizabeth M. 2013-09 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/19296/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/19296/1/jgrf20089.pdf en eng American Geophysical Union https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/19296/1/jgrf20089.pdf Arthern, Robert J. orcid:0000-0002-3762-8219 Corr, Hugh F.J.; Gillet-Chaulet, Fabien; Hawley, Robert L.; Morris, Elizabeth M. 2013 Inversion for the density-depth profile of polar firn using a stepped-frequency radar. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 118 (3). 1257-1263. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrf.20089 <https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrf.20089> cc_by CC-BY Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2013 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrf.20089 2023-02-04T19:32:13Z Translating satellite measurements of ice sheet volume change into sea level contribution requires knowledge of the profile of density as a function of depth within the ice sheet, and how this profile changes over time. This paper describes an interferometric method of inverting ground-penetrating radar returns for the profile of firn density as a function of depth. The method is an interferometric implementation of the common-midpoint approach, performed using a stepped-frequency, phase-sensitive ground-penetrating radar. By recording the phase difference of returns with a range of antenna separations, the different path lengths through the firn allow recovery of a smoothed representation of the density profile. This density model is characterised by three parameters: surface density and two decay lengths for porosity, each operating over a different density range. Our results suggest that the stepped-frequency radar used here can accurately recover differences in two-way travel time and produce useful estimates of the density profile. In a test of the method performed at Summit station in Greenland, the recovered density-depth profile agreed with indepenent density measurements from an ice core and a neutron probe to within 6% root-mean-square error. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland ice core Ice Sheet Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Greenland Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 118 3 1257 1263 |
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Open Polar |
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Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
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ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
Translating satellite measurements of ice sheet volume change into sea level contribution requires knowledge of the profile of density as a function of depth within the ice sheet, and how this profile changes over time. This paper describes an interferometric method of inverting ground-penetrating radar returns for the profile of firn density as a function of depth. The method is an interferometric implementation of the common-midpoint approach, performed using a stepped-frequency, phase-sensitive ground-penetrating radar. By recording the phase difference of returns with a range of antenna separations, the different path lengths through the firn allow recovery of a smoothed representation of the density profile. This density model is characterised by three parameters: surface density and two decay lengths for porosity, each operating over a different density range. Our results suggest that the stepped-frequency radar used here can accurately recover differences in two-way travel time and produce useful estimates of the density profile. In a test of the method performed at Summit station in Greenland, the recovered density-depth profile agreed with indepenent density measurements from an ice core and a neutron probe to within 6% root-mean-square error. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Arthern, Robert J. Corr, Hugh F.J. Gillet-Chaulet, Fabien Hawley, Robert L. Morris, Elizabeth M. |
spellingShingle |
Arthern, Robert J. Corr, Hugh F.J. Gillet-Chaulet, Fabien Hawley, Robert L. Morris, Elizabeth M. Inversion for the density-depth profile of polar firn using a stepped-frequency radar |
author_facet |
Arthern, Robert J. Corr, Hugh F.J. Gillet-Chaulet, Fabien Hawley, Robert L. Morris, Elizabeth M. |
author_sort |
Arthern, Robert J. |
title |
Inversion for the density-depth profile of polar firn using a stepped-frequency radar |
title_short |
Inversion for the density-depth profile of polar firn using a stepped-frequency radar |
title_full |
Inversion for the density-depth profile of polar firn using a stepped-frequency radar |
title_fullStr |
Inversion for the density-depth profile of polar firn using a stepped-frequency radar |
title_full_unstemmed |
Inversion for the density-depth profile of polar firn using a stepped-frequency radar |
title_sort |
inversion for the density-depth profile of polar firn using a stepped-frequency radar |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/19296/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/19296/1/jgrf20089.pdf |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland ice core Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Greenland ice core Ice Sheet |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/19296/1/jgrf20089.pdf Arthern, Robert J. orcid:0000-0002-3762-8219 Corr, Hugh F.J.; Gillet-Chaulet, Fabien; Hawley, Robert L.; Morris, Elizabeth M. 2013 Inversion for the density-depth profile of polar firn using a stepped-frequency radar. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 118 (3). 1257-1263. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrf.20089 <https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrf.20089> |
op_rights |
cc_by |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrf.20089 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface |
container_volume |
118 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
1257 |
op_container_end_page |
1263 |
_version_ |
1766019015138869248 |