A first try at identification of sea ice using the three beam scatterometer of ERS-1

Abstract

Regional-scale behaviour of backscattering at C-band is investigated using data of the ERS-1 three-beam scatterometer, the AMI-WIND, during November 1991, over the Arctic ocean. The normalized radar cross-section appears as a linear function of incidence angle, whose two parameters vary considerably between zones of first-year and multi-year sea ice. Once determined the slope parameter of the AMI-WIND data, measured normalized radar cross-sections are corrected to bring them to a single reference incidence angle. False-colour mapping of this variable displays first-year and multi-year sea ice zones as determined previously from several passive micro-wave sensors (ESMR. SSM,/I)