Polar Applications of Spaceborne Scatterometers

• Published in: IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
• Main Author: Long, David G.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Article; Sea ice; Tundra
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5597249/; https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2016.2629418

Wind scatterometers were originally developed for observation of near-surface winds over the ocean. They retrieve wind indirectly by measuring the normalized radar cross section (σo) of the surface, and estimating the wind via a geophysical model function relating σo to the vector wind. The σo measurements have proven to be remarkably capable in studies of the polar regions where they can map snow cover; detect the freeze/thaw state of forest, tundra, and ice; map and classify sea ice; and track icebergs. Further, a long time series of scatterometer σo observations is available to support climate studies. In addition to fundamental scientific research, scatterometer data are operationally used for sea-ice mapping to support navigation. Scatterometers are, thus, invaluable tools for monitoring the polar regions. In this paper, a brief review of some of the polar applications of spaceborne wind scatterometer data is provided. The paper considers both C-band and Ku-band scatterometers, and the relative merits of fan-beam and pencil-beam scatterometers in polar remote sensing are discussed.