Observing the ocean using CryoSat-2's Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mode
Abstract
The CryoSat mission is designed to measure changes in the polar ice fields. There is evidence that suggests that changes in the acceleration of the loss of ice from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are a result of heat arriving at their periphery transported by the ocean. In the Arctic, as the sea ice cover retreats the Arctic Ocean circulation might also change, which could speed up the reduction of the sea ice cover and alter the storage and distribution of freshwater. Therefore, the ability to monitor changes in the polar oceans as well as the ice cover will increase our understanding of the system. The method used to derive sea ice thickness estimates from CryoSat-2 produces measurements of the sea surface height in the ice-covered oceans, from which surface circulation can be derived. In this paper we demonstrate CryoSat-2's ability to measure both the mean and time variant sea surface height in the Arctic. We also present preliminary results from an alternative model fit to the oceanographic returns that can provide estimates of significant wave height and backscatter (which is related to wind speed), in addition to sea surface height, for CryoSat's SAR mode data.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFM.C51A0758G
- Keywords:
-
- 0738 CRYOSPHERE / Ice;
- 0758 CRYOSPHERE / Remote sensing;
- 4275 OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL / Remote sensing and electromagnetic processes