Microwave signature of the greenland ice sheet at Ku- and S-bands

• Published in: IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters
• Main Authors: PIERDICCA, Nazzareno, PULVIRENTI, Luca, BIGNAMI, Christian
• Other Authors: Pierdicca, Nazzareno, Pulvirenti, Luca, Bignami, Christian
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: greenland; ice sheet; microwave radiometry; passive remote sensing; radar altimeter; Greenland; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11573/360140; https://doi.org/10.1109/lgrs.2008.2012004; http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=000265376000030&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=0c7ff228ccbaaa74236f48834a34396a; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-65049085842&partnerID=65&md5=a5bbe42dc40e201af00c5d7169333167

This letter is focused on the microwave signature characterization of the Greenland ice sheet. Such characterization is carried out by exploiting the S- and Ku-band brightness temperatures measured by the radar altimeter RA-2 when it operates as a radiometer during the ENVISAT Commissioning Phase for the purpose of calibrating the receiver. Despite the poor radiometric resolution and the calibration issues, this activity represented a unique opportunity to gather brightness temperatures at frequencies that are not available from current spaceborne microwave radiometers. The analysis of the passive RA-2 data investigates the influence of terrain height and of the temperature of the snow layers on the brightness temperatures at RA-2 bands. The effect of the different penetration depths of the electromagnetic radiation at S- and Ku-bands is also pointed out. Measurements from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System are used to complement the data provided by RA-2 and to verify their reliability. © 2009 IEEE.