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Faculty Publications

2006

SeaWinds

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Melt Detection In Antarctic Ice Shelves Using Scatterometers And Microwave Radiometers, David G. Long, Lucas B. Kunz Sep 2006

Melt Detection In Antarctic Ice Shelves Using Scatterometers And Microwave Radiometers, David G. Long, Lucas B. Kunz

Faculty Publications

Ku-band dual-polarization radar backscatter measurements from the SeaWinds-on-QuikSCAT scatterometer are used to determine periods of surface freeze and melt in the Antarctic ice shelves. The normalized horizontal-polarization radar backscatter (sigmao) and backscatter polarization ratio are used in maximum-likelihood estimation of the ice state. This method is used to infer the daily ice-surface conditions for 25 study locations located on the Ronne, Ross, Larsen, Amery, Shackleton, and other ice shelves. The temporal and spatial variations of the radar response are observed for various neighborhood sizes surrounding each given location during the study period. Criteria for determining the dates of melt onset …


Microwave Observations Of Daily Antarctic Sea-Ice Edge Expansion And Contraction Rates, David G. Long, Jeffrey R. Allen Jan 2006

Microwave Observations Of Daily Antarctic Sea-Ice Edge Expansion And Contraction Rates, David G. Long, Jeffrey R. Allen

Faculty Publications

Algorithms for estimating sea-ice extent from remotely sensed microwave sensor data can benefit from knowledge of the "a priori" distribution of the daily expansion and contraction of the sea-ice pack. To estimate the probability distribution of daily Antarctic sea-ice extent change, two independent sea-ice datasets are analyzed: sea-ice extent derived from the QuikSCAT scatterometer and ice concentration estimates from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager. The daily sea-ice advance and retreat is tracked over a four-year period. The distribution of the daily sea-ice advance/retreat from each sensor is similar and is approximately double-exponential. Daily ice-pack statistics are presented.