Investigation of Sea Ice Using Multiple Synthetic Aperture Radar Acquisitions

• Main Author: Yitayew, Temesgen Gebrie
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: UiT Norges arktiske universitet 2018
• Subjects: VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Physics: 430::Electromagnetism; acoustics; optics: 434; VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Fysikk: 430::Elektromagnetisme; akustikk; optikk: 434; Arctic; Ferro; Norway; Svalbard; Tromsø; Northern Norway; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10037/12244

The papers of this thesis are not available in Munin. Paper I: Yitayew, T. G., Ferro-Famil, L., Eltoft, T. & Tebaldini, S. (2017). Tomographic imaging of fjord ice using a very high resolution ground-based SAR system. Available in IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 55 (2):698-714. Paper II: Yitayew, T. G., Ferro-Famil, L., Eltoft, T. & Tebaldini, S. (2017). Lake and fjord ice imaging using a multifrequency ground-based tomographic SAR system. Available in IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 10(10):4457-4468. Paper III: Yitayew, T. G., Divine, D. V., Dierking, W., Eltoft, T., Ferro-Famil, L., Rosel, A. & Negrel, J. Validation of Sea ice Topographic Heights Derived from TanDEMX Interferometric SAR Data with Results from Laser Profiler and Photogrammetry. (Manuscript). The thesis investigates imaging in the vertical direction of different types of ice in the arctic using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) tomography and SAR interferometry. In the first part, the magnitude and the positions of the dominant scattering contributions within snow covered fjord and lake ice layers are effectively identified by using a very high resolution ground-based tomographic SAR system. Datasets collected at multiple frequencies and polarizations over two test sites in Tromsø area, northern Norway, are used for characterizing the three-dimensional response of snow and ice. The presented experimental results helped to improve our understanding of the interaction between radar waves and snow and ice layers. The reconstructed radar responses are also used for estimating the refractive indices and the vertical positions of the different sub-layers of snow and ice. The second part of the thesis deals with the retrieval of the surface topography of multi-year sea ice using SAR interferometry. Satellite acquisitions from TanDEM-X over the Svalbard area are used for analysis. The retrieved surface height is validated by using overlapping helicopter-based stereo camera ...