Antarctic Ice Sheet and Radar Altimetry: A Review

Altimetry is probably one of the most powerful tools for ice sheet observation. Our vision of the Antarctic ice sheet has been deeply transformed since the launch of the ERS1 satellite in 1991. With the launch of ERS2 and Envisat, the series of altimetric observations now provides 19 years of continuous and homogeneous observations that allow monitoring of the shape and volume of ice sheets. The topography deduced from altimetry is one of the relevant parameters revealing the processes acting on ice sheet. Moreover, altimeter also provides other parameters such as backscatter and waveform shape that give information on the surface roughness or snow pack characteristics

Comparison of environmental conditions in the Bering Sea and Davis Strait and the effects on microwave signature returns; March and April, 1979

Aircraft data collected in the Bering Sea in March, 1979 using a 6.6 GH sub z (C Band) microwave radiometer and a 13.9 GH sub z (Ku Band) scatterometer, reinforce the difficulties in interpreting first year ice types found near the ice edge in a marginal ice zone. An ice interpretation scheme using data taken with a 13.3 GH sub z (Ku Band) scatterometer and a 19.4 GH sub z (K Band) radiometer in Davis Strait also shows ambiguity in the first year ice signal and indicates that ice interpretation becomes more difficult near the ice edge and under warmer conditions. This report also compares X Band SAR data taken in Davis Strait with similar imagery collected in the Bering Sea. Ice core samples from the Bering test area offer a basis for speculation on changes in ice morphology which affect the signature return at the ice edge, and help explain the difficulty of the sensors in discerning the two different ice types found on the photography and in the core samples

Surface melt and ponding on Larsen C Ice Shelf and the impact of föhn winds

A common precursor to ice shelf disintegration, most notably that of Larsen B Ice Shelf, is unusually intense or prolonged surface melt and the presence of surface standing water. However, there has been little research into detailed patterns of melt on ice shelves or the nature of summer melt ponds. We investigated surface melt on Larsen C Ice Shelf at high resolution using Envisat advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) data and explored melt ponds in a range of satellite images. The improved spatial resolution of SAR over alternative approaches revealed anomalously long melt duration in western inlets. Meteorological modelling explained this pattern by föhn winds which were common in this region.Melt ponds are difficult to detect using optical imagery because cloud-free conditions are rare in this region and ponds quickly freeze over, but can be monitored using SAR in all weather conditions. Melt ponds up to tens of kilometres in length were common in Cabinet Inlet, where melt duration was most prolonged. The pattern of melt explains the previously observed distribution of ice shelf densification, which in parts had reached levels that preceded the collapse of Larsen B Ice Shelf, suggesting a potential role for föhn winds in promoting unstable conditions on ice shelves

A Blended Global Snow Product using Visible, Passive Microwave and Scatterometer Satellite Data

A joint U.S. Air Force/NASA blended, global snow product that utilizes Earth Observation System (EOS) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) and QuikSCAT (Quick Scatterometer) (QSCAT) data has been developed. Existing snow products derived from these sensors have been blended into a single, global, daily, user-friendly product by employing a newly-developed Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA)/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Snow Algorithm (ANSA). This initial blended-snow product uses minimal modeling to expeditiously yield improved snow products, which include snow cover extent, fractional snow cover, snow water equivalent (SWE), onset of snowmelt, and identification of actively melting snow cover. The blended snow products are currently 25-km resolution. These products are validated with data from the lower Great Lakes region of the U.S., from Colorado during the Cold Lands Processes Experiment (CLPX), and from Finland. The AMSR-E product is especially useful in detecting snow through clouds; however, passive microwave data miss snow in those regions where the snow cover is thin, along the margins of the continental snowline, and on the lee side of the Rocky Mountains, for instance. In these regions, the MODIS product can map shallow snow cover under cloud-free conditions. The confidence for mapping snow cover extent is greater with the MODIS product than with the microwave product when cloud-free MODIS observations are available. Therefore, the MODIS product is used as the default for detecting snow cover. The passive microwave product is used as the default only in those areas where MODIS data are not applicable due to the presence of clouds and darkness. The AMSR-E snow product is used in association with the difference between ascending and descending satellite passes or Diurnal Amplitude Variations (DAV) to detect the onset of melt, and a QSCAT product will be used to map areas of snow that are actively melting

The future of spaceborne altimetry. Oceans and climate change: A long-term strategy

The ocean circulation and polar ice sheet volumes provide important memory and control functions in the global climate. Their long term variations are unknown and need to be understood before meaningful appraisals of climate change can be made. Satellite altimetry is the only method for providing global information on the ocean circulation and ice sheet volume. A robust altimeter measurement program is planned which will initiate global observations of the ocean circulation and polar ice sheets. In order to provide useful data about the climate, these measurements must be continued with unbroken coverage into the next century. Herein, past results of the role of the ocean in the climate system is summarized, near term goals are outlined, and requirements and options are presented for future altimeter missions. There are three basic scientific objectives for the program: ocean circulation; polar ice sheets; and mean sea level change. The greatest scientific benefit will be achieved with a series of dedicated high precision altimeter spacecraft, for which the choice of orbit parameters and system accuracy are unencumbered by requirements of companion instruments

Field Measurements for Remote Sensing of the Cryosphere

Remote sensing observations of the cryosphere, like any other target of interest, require ground-based measurements for both calibration and validation, as inversion algorithms are usually underdetermined and uncertainties in the retrieval are needed for application. Field-based observations are performed in selected representative locations, and typically involve both direct in situ measurements of the physical properties of interest, as well as ground-based remote sensing techniques. New state-of-the-art modern techniques for measuring physical properties rapidly and at high spatial resolution have recently given us a new view of spatiotemporal variability. These are important, as large variability at scales below the typical footprint of spaceborne sensors often exists. Simulating remote sensing measurements using ground-based sensors provides the ability to perform both in situ and remote sensing measurements at the same scale, providing insight into the dominant physical processes that must be accounted for in inversion models and retrieval schemes. While direct in situ measurements provide the most accurate information about the properties of interest, they are time-consuming and expensive and are, therefore, only practical at relatively few locations, and often with low temporal resolution. Spatial sampling strategies, designed specifically for the remote sensing observation of interest, can reduce uncertainties in comparisons between ground-based and airborne/spaceborne estimates. Intensive remote sensing calibration and validation campaigns, often associated with an upcoming or recent satellite launch, provide unique opportunities for detailed characterization at a wide range of scales, and these are typically large international collaborative efforts. This chapter reviews standard in situmanual field measurements for snow and ice properties, as well as newer high-resolution techniques and instruments used to simulate airborne and spaceborne remote sensing observations. Sampling strategies and example applications from recent international calibration and validation experiments are given. Field measurements are a crucial component of remote sensing of the cryosphere, as they provide both the necessary direct observations of the variables of interest, as well as measurements that simulate the particular remote sensing technique at scales that can be characterized accurately. Ground-based observations provide the information needed to: improve and develop new retrieval algorithms; calibrate algorithms; and validate results to provide accurate uncertainty assessments

Simulating ice core 10Be on the glacial–interglacial timescale

10Be ice core measurements are an important tool for paleoclimate research, e.g., allowing for the reconstruction of past solar activity or changes in the geomagnetic dipole field. However, especially on multi-millennial timescales, the share of production and climate-induced variations of respective 10Be ice core records is still up for debate. Here we present the first quantitative climatological model of the 10Be ice concentration up to the glacial–interglacial timescale. The model approach is composed of (i) a coarse resolution global atmospheric transport model and (ii) a local 10Be air–firn transfer model. Extensive global-scale observational data of short-lived radionuclides as well as new polar 10Be snow-pit measurements are used for model calibration and validation. Being specifically configured for 10Be in polar ice, this tool thus allows for a straightforward investigation of production- and non-production-related modulation of this nuclide. We find that the polar 10Be ice concentration does not immediately record the globally mixed cosmogenic production signal. Using geomagnetic modulation and revised Greenland snow accumulation rate changes as model input, we simulate the observed Greenland Summit (GRIP and GISP2) 10Be ice core records over the last 75 kyr (on the GICC05modelext timescale). We show that our basic model is capable of reproducing the largest portion of the observed 10Be changes. However, model–measurement differences exhibit multi-millennial trends (differences up to 87% in case of normalized to the Holocene records) which call for closer investigation. Focusing on the (12–37) b2k (before the year AD 2000) period, mean model–measurement differences of 30% cannot be attributed to production changes. However, unconsidered climate-induced changes could likely explain the model–measurement mismatch. In fact, the 10Be ice concentration is very sensitive to snow accumulation changes. Here the reconstructed Greenland Summit (GRIP) snow accumulation rate record would require revision of +28% to solely account for the (12–37) b2k model–measurement differences

The Roles of the S3MPC: Monitoring, Validation and Evolution of Sentinel-3 Altimetry Observations

The Sentinel-3 Mission Performance Centre (S3MPC) is tasked by the European Space Agency (ESA) to monitor the health of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites and ensure a high data quality to the users. This paper deals exclusively with the effort devoted to the altimeter and microwave radiometer, both components of the Surface Topography Mission (STM). The altimeters on Sentinel-3A and -3B are the first to operate in delay-Doppler or SAR mode over all Earth surfaces, which enables better spatial resolution of the signal in the along-track direction and improved noise reduction through multi-looking, whilst the radiometer is a two-channel nadir-viewing system. There are regular routine assessments of the instruments through investigation of telemetered housekeeping data, calibrations over selected sites and comparisons of geophysical retrievals with models, in situ data and other satellite systems. These are performed both to monitor the daily production, assessing the uncertainties and errors on the estimates, and also to characterize the long-term performance for climate science applications. This is critical because an undetected drift in performance could be misconstrued as a climate variation. As the data are used by the Copernicus Services (e.g., CMEMS, Global Land Monitoring Services) and by the research community over open ocean, coastal waters, sea ice, land ice, rivers and lakes, the validation activities encompass all these domains, with regular reports openly available. The S3MPC is also in charge of preparing improvements to the processing, and of the development and tuning of algorithms to improve their accuracy. This paper is thus the first refereed publication to bring together the analysis of SAR altimetry across all these different domains to highlight the benefits and existing challenges

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationRecent surface mass balance changes in space and time over the polar ice sheets need to be better constrained in order to estimate the ice-sheet contribution to sea-level rise. The mass balance of any ice body is obtained by subtracting mass losses from mass gains. In response to climate changes of the recent decades, ice-sheet mass losses have increased, making ice-sheet mass balance negative and raising sea level. In this work, I better quantify the mass gained by snowfall across the polar ice sheets; I target specific regions over both Greenland and West Antarctica where snow accumulation changes are occurring due to rising air temperature. Southeast Greenland receives 30% of the total snow accumulation of the Greenland ice sheet. In this work, I combine internal layers observed in ice-penetrating radar data with firn cores to derive the last 30 years of accumulation and to measure the spatial pattern of accumulation toward the southeast coastline. Below 1800 m elevation, in the percolation zone, significant surface melt is observed in the summer, which challenges both firn-core dating and internal-layer tracing. While firn-core drilling at 1500 m elevation, liquid water was found at ~20-m depth in a firn aquifer that persisted over the winter. The presence of this water filling deeper pore space in the firn was unexpected, and has a significant impact on the ice sheet thermal state and the estimate of mass balance made using satellite altimeters. Using a 400-MHz ice-penetrating radar, the extent of this widespread aquifer was mapped on the ground, and also more extensively from the air with a 750-MHz airborne radar as part of the NASA Operation IceBridge mission. Over three IceBridge flight campaigns (2011-2013), based on radar data, the firn aquifer is estimated to cover ~30,000 km2 area within the wet-snow zone of the ice sheet. I use repeated flightlines to understand the temporal variability of the water trapped in the firn aquifer and to simulate its lateral flow, following the gentle surface slope (< 1) and undulated topography of the ice sheet surface toward the ablation zone of the ice sheet. The fate of this water is currently unknown; water drainage into crevasses and at least partial runoff is inferred based on the analysis of radar profiles from different years. I also present results from a field expedition in West Antarctica, where data collection combined high-frequency (2-18 GHz) radar data and shallow (< 20 m) firn cores from Central West Antarctica, crossing the ice divide toward the Amundsen Sea. The radar-derived accumulation rates show a 75% increase (+0.20 m w.eq. y-1) of net snow accumulation from the ice divide, toward the Amundsen Sea for a 70-km transect, assuming annual isochrones being detected in the radar profile. On the Ross Sea side of the divide, with accumulation rates less than 0.25 m w.eq. y-1 and significant wind redistribution, only a multi-annual stratigraphy is detected in the radar profile. Using radar, I investigated the small-scale variability within a radius of ~1.5 km of one firn-core site, and I find that the averaged variation in accumulation-rate in this area is 0.1 m w.eq. y-1 in the upper 25-m of the firn column, which is 20% of the average accumulation rate