Iceberg Detection for Arctic Operations - A Comparison of C- and L-band Wide-Swath SAR

• Main Author: Færch, Laust
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: UiT Norges arktiske universitet 2024
• Subjects: Synthetic Aperture Radar; Arctic; Icebergs; DOKTOR-004; Arktis; Arktis*; Iceberg*; Sea ice; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10037/34431

The accurate detection and mapping of icebergs in the Arctic is important for the safety of maritime traffic and offshore infrastructure and for monitoring the health of marine-terminating glaciers. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images from satellites have proven to be a useful tool for Arctic monitoring, and C-band SAR images are currently used for operational iceberg monitoring in selected areas. However, current C-band data have been shown to offer only limited discrimination between icebergs and sea ice, impeding regular detection of icebergs in sea ice. Moreover, the methods currently used for iceberg detection in open water are poorly validated, and additional knowledge about their performance is needed. Future L-band missions are expected to increase detection accuracies for icebergs in sea ice and may, in addition, offer some advantages over C-band for detecting icebergs in open water. In this thesis, we are comparing the use of C- and L-band SAR images for the detection of icebergs in the Arctic. The first part of this thesis provides a background and introduction to Arctic icebergs, SAR, and the topic of iceberg detection using SAR. The second part of this thesis presents three research papers that have been produced as part of this Ph.D. project. The results of the research show that although L-band SAR serves as an excellent complement to C-band SAR for the detection of icebergs in open water, the true advantage of L-band over C-band is for the detection of icebergs in sea ice. This opens up a whole new area for monitoring, allowing for a more complete mapping of icebergs, and greatly improving the possibilities of Arctic-wide iceberg surveillance. En nøyaktig overvåkning og kartlegging av isfjell i Arktis er viktig for sikkerheten til sjøtrafikk og infrastruktur til havs og for å overvåke helsen til kystnære breer. Bilder fra satellitter med syntetisk aperturradar (SAR) har vist seg å være et nyttig verktøy for overvåking av Arktis, og C-bånd SAR-bilder brukes aktivt til operativ ...