Advanced Multifrequency Radar Instrumentation for Polar Research

Abstract

This paper presents a radar sensor package specifically developed for wide-coverage sounding and imaging of polar ice sheets from a variety of aircraft. Our instruments address the need for a reliable remote sensing solution well-suited for extensive surveys at low and high altitudes and capable of making measurements with fine spatial and temporal resolution. The sensor package that we are presenting consists of four primary instruments and ancillary systems with all the associated antennas integrated into the aircraft to maintain aerodynamic performance. The instruments operate simultaneously over different frequency bands within the 160 MHz-18 GHz range. The sensor package has allowed us to sound the most challenging areas of the polar ice sheets, ice sheet margins, and outlet glaciers; to map near-surface internal layers with fine resolution; and to detect the snow-air and snow-ice interfaces of snow cover over sea ice to generate estimates of snow thickness. In this paper, we provide a succinct description of each radar and associated antenna structures and present sample results to document their performance. We also give a brief overview of our field measurement programs and demonstrate the unique capability of the sensor package to perform multifrequency coincidental measurements from a single airborne platform. Finally, we illustrate the relevance of using multispectral radar data as a tool to characterize the entire ice column and to reveal important subglacial features.