TY - JOUR
T1 - Characterizing near-surface firn using the scattered signal component of the glacier surface return from airborne radio-echo sounding
AU - Rutishauser, Anja
AU - Grima, Cyril
AU - Sharp, Martin
AU - Blankenship, Donald D.
AU - Young, Duncan A.
AU - Cawkwell, Fiona
AU - Dowdeswell, Julian A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by grants from UK NERC (NE/K004999), NASA (13-ICEE13-00018), NSERC (Discovery Grant/Northern Research Supplement), Alberta Innovates Technology Futures, the CRYSYS Program (Environment Canada), and a University of Alberta Northern Research Award. We thank PCSP for logistical support, and NRI, NWB, and the peoples of Grise Fjord and Resolute Bay for research permission on Devon Ice Cap. A. Criscitiello, F. Habbal, G. Ng, C. Mortimer, S. Palmer, T. Richter, and many others helped with data collection. We also thank the Editor Julienne Stroeve and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments that improved the manuscript. This is UTIG contribution #3020. The data products derived for this study are available by contacting the corresponding author.
Publisher Copyright:
©2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2016/12/28
Y1 - 2016/12/28
N2 - We derive the scattered component (hereafter referred to as the incoherent component) of glacier surface echoes from airborne radio-echo sounding measurements over Devon Ice Cap, Arctic Canada, and compare the scattering distribution to firn stratigraphy observations from ground-based radar data. Low scattering correlates to laterally homogeneous firn above 1800 m elevation containing thin, flat, and continuous ice layers and below 1200 m elevation where firn predominantly consists of ice. Increased scattering between elevations of 1200–1800 m corresponds to firn with inhomogeneous, undulating ice layers. No correlation was found to surface roughness and its theoretical incoherent backscattering values. This indicates that the scattering component is mainly influenced by the near-surface firn stratigraphy, whereas surface roughness effects are minor. Our results suggest that analyzing the scattered signal component of glacier surface echoes is a promising approach to characterize the spatial heterogeneity of firn that is affected by melting and refreezing processes.
AB - We derive the scattered component (hereafter referred to as the incoherent component) of glacier surface echoes from airborne radio-echo sounding measurements over Devon Ice Cap, Arctic Canada, and compare the scattering distribution to firn stratigraphy observations from ground-based radar data. Low scattering correlates to laterally homogeneous firn above 1800 m elevation containing thin, flat, and continuous ice layers and below 1200 m elevation where firn predominantly consists of ice. Increased scattering between elevations of 1200–1800 m corresponds to firn with inhomogeneous, undulating ice layers. No correlation was found to surface roughness and its theoretical incoherent backscattering values. This indicates that the scattering component is mainly influenced by the near-surface firn stratigraphy, whereas surface roughness effects are minor. Our results suggest that analyzing the scattered signal component of glacier surface echoes is a promising approach to characterize the spatial heterogeneity of firn that is affected by melting and refreezing processes.
KW - firn characterization
KW - radio-echo sounding
KW - scattering signal component
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85007495668&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/2016GL071230
DO - 10.1002/2016GL071230
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85007495668
SN - 0094-8276
VL - 43
SP - 12,502-12,510
JO - Geophysical Research Letters
JF - Geophysical Research Letters
IS - 24
ER -