Studies of Greenland using the Seasat scatterometer

David G. Long; Perry J. Hardin

doi:10.1117/12.154695

31 August 1993 Studies of Greenland using the Seasat scatterometer

David G. Long, Perry J. Hardin

Proceedings Volume 1941, Ground Sensing; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.154695
Event: Optical Engineering and Photonics in Aerospace Sensing, 1993, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

The Ku-band (14.6 GHz) Seasat scatterometer (SASS), which flew for 3 months in 1978, was designed to measure the normalized radar backscatter coefficient ((sigma) ⁰) in order to determine the near-surface wind over the ocean. While SASS made measurements of (sigma) ⁰ over land and ice regions, the application of this data has been limited due to the low resolution (50 km) of the measurements. Recently, however, we developed a new technique to generate enhanced resolution (to as fine as 3 - 4 km) images of the surface radar backscatter characteristics from SASS measurements. In this paper we report some results of a study of the seasonal response of the Greenland ice sheet using this technique. Using SASS data, we have generated a time-series of enhanced resolution images of vertically-polarized radar images of Greenland during July - Sept. 1978. The effects of the summer melt along the ice sheet periphery are clearly evident in the time series. In central Greenland, which exhibits a very high radar backscatter at 14.6 GHz, very little change was observed over the three month data set.

Citation Download Citation

David G. Long and Perry J. Hardin "Studies of Greenland using the Seasat scatterometer", Proc. SPIE 1941, Ground Sensing, (31 August 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.154695

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