Measuring Melt Intensity Using Passive and Active Microwave Satellite Observations

he objective of this study is to demonstrate an enhanced melt detection algorithm that can be used to detect the intensity or amount of melt on the Greenland ice sheet during a melt season. Since the active and passive microwave melt signals are dependent on different aspects of the effective dielectric constant it is possible to use a combination of the two signals to derive the melt intensity. The technique relies on the detection of changes in the diurnal signals detected by the SeaWinds scatterometer on the QuikSCAT satellite and the 37 GHz and 19 GHz passive microwave channels of the DMSP SSM/I satellites. In situ meteorological measurements from the Greenland Climate Network are used to validate the algorithm. Melt intensity maps for Greenland for 2002-2005 are presented.