Variations in Radar Backscatter Across the Great Ice Sheets

• Main Authors: Noltimier, K.F., Jezek, K.C.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University. 1995
• Subjects: Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Project; Radar backscatter; Ice Sheets; Antarctic; Greenland; Antarc*; Antarctica; Polar Research
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1811/51370

Radar backscatter over the great ice sheets is modulated by the near surface properties of polar firn. These properties (grain size, density, stratigraphy, wetness) change in time and from region to region. Information was compiled on the spatial variation in backscatter across selected parts of Antarctica and Greenland from ERS-l SAR data. This SAR-derived backscatter information is compared to similar data, collected in situ and from the ERS-l scatterometer, obtained from literature. These results will be used to refine processing schemes for the Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Project.