Evaluating Snow on Sea Ice Observations from Airborne and Ground Based Measurements
Abstract
Global climate models are sensitive to sea ice thickness. With the recent reduction in Arctic sea ice extent (and sea ice thickness) due to climate change, accurate estimates of sea ice thickness have become increasingly important. Accumulated snow cover on sea ice is a critical component of several approaches that estimate freeboard, which is commonly used to estimate sea ice thickness. The radar altimetry measurement approach assumes that the most dominant scattering surface is the snow-ice interface. Recent studies have shown that for the Ku band, this surface may be closer to the snow-air interface in the presence of highly metamorphosed snow layers or when temperatures approach freezing. This study evaluates estimates of snow depth over sea ice using airborne radar and laser altimetry, and in-situ data collected during the 2014 CryoVex field campaign. The objectives are to compare field measurements of snow properties with estimates from the airborne altimeter campaigns and to evaluate how the field data can be used to improve the understanding of radar backscatter response from the snow. The ability of the radar altimetry to characterize the snow depth and microstructure as determined through field observations is assessed. This research will help expand the current understanding of Ku-band radar altimeter penetration into snow covering sea ice and assist with ongoing research efforts to characterize local to regional sea ice thickness.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFM.C33C1212D
- Keywords:
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- 0736 Snow;
- CRYOSPHERE;
- 0750 Sea ice;
- CRYOSPHERE;
- 0770 Properties;
- CRYOSPHERE;
- 4540 Ice mechanics and air/sea/ice exchange processes;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL