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Abstracts
SEARCH Open Science Meeting
October 27, 2003
Seattle, Washington, USA
Sea Ice Thickness Measurements by a Low-Frequency Wideband Penetrating Radar
Benjamin Holt1, Prasad Gogineni2, Vijay Ramasami3, Pannir Kanagaratnam4, Andy Mahoney5, Kyle McDonald6, Vicky Lytle7
1Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA, Phone 818-354-5473, Fax 818-393-6720, ben@pacific.jpl.nasa.gov
2RSL, 2335 Irving Hill Road, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA, Phone 785-864-7734, Fax 785-864-7789, gogineni@rsl.ukans.edu
3RSL, 2335 Irving Hill Road, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA, Phone 785-864-7741, Fax 785-864-7789, rvc@ittc.ku.edu
4RSL, 2335 Irving Hill Road, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA, Phone 785-864-7742, Fax 785-864-7789, pkanagar@ittc.ku.edu
5Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Dr., Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-5648, Fax 907-474-7290, mahoney@gi.alaska.edu
6Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasandena, CA, 91109, USA, Phone 818-354-3263, Fax 818-354-9476, mcdonald@mail1.jpl.nasa.gov
7Antarctic CRC, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia, v.lytle@antcrc.utas.edu.au
The thickness of sea ice is an indicator of the state of ocean circulation and associated air-sea heat exchange within the polar regions, which can have profound impacts on global heat balance and ocean thermohaline circulation. Synoptic and direct measurements of sea ice thickness by remote sensing techniques have proved elusive, with limitations in measurable thickness range or spatial and temporal coverage.
A prototype low-frequency wideband penetrating radar for measuring sea ice thickness was designed and successfully tested at Barrow in May 2003. Electromagnetic modeling and simulations of the complex and lossy sea ice were performed to determine the appropriate radar frequencies needed to penetrate the entire sea ice volume. Based on the simulation results, a prototype radar system was built that included a VHF (50-250 MHz) radar system for measuring thick (1-8 m) Arctic sea ice and a UHF (300-1300 MHz) radar system for measuring thin (0.5- 2m) ice in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The field test indicated that the VHF component was sensitive to ice thickness which ranged from 0.5-4 m. In situ measurements of thickness by an EMI and augers were obtained for validation. This study will present comparisons of the radar and in situ measurements and outline challenges associated with measuring ice thickness with VHF radar, with an emphasis on key properties of the snow-ice medium that impact the ability of a radar to characterize the ice thickness.
Abstract Categories: Changes in the Sea
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