Multi-Frequency and Multi-Polarization Synthetic Aperture Radar for the Larsen-C A-68 Iceberg Monitoring

• Published in: 2018 IEEE 4th International Forum on Research and Technology for Society and Industry (RTSI)
• Main Authors: Nunziata F., Buono A., Migliaccio M., Moctezuma M., Parmiggiani F., Aulicino G.
• Other Authors: IEEE, Nunziata, F., Buono, A., Migliaccio, M., Moctezuma, M., Parmiggiani, F., Aulicino, G.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. 2018
• Subjects: iceberg; Larsen ice shelf; polarization; SAR; segmentation; Weddell Sea; Weddell; Larsen Ice Shelf; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Shelf; W. Antarctica
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11367/77251; https://doi.org/10.1109/RTSI.2018.8548372; http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/mostRecentIssue.jsp?punumber=8528317

Since 2016 the fracture of the Larsen-C ice shelf has been regularly observed in the Eastern Weddell Sea (68°S, 61°W, Antarctica). This process led to the final collapse in July 2017, when an area of about 6000 km 2 (i. e., about 9-12% of the whole shelf) was lost. In this study the resulting calved iceberg, termed as 'A-68' from the U. S. National Ice Center, is observed using multi-frequency and multi-polarization Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite platforms that include L-band Alos PaISAR-2, C-band Sentinel-l and X-band COSMO-SkyMed. A large set of SAR scenes were considered, collected in ScanSAR imaging modes over a time span of about 1 year, to analyze the iceberg properties and its melting process and drifting.