In this SERF project we investigate the possibility of retrieval of physical properties of bare sea ice from in-situ microwave remote sensing measurements.

Time series C-band (5.5 GHz) fully-polarimetric  scatterometer data from sea ice during the initial ice formation will be collected. The inverse scattering model will be applied to the collected data to reconstruct changes of brine volume content in sea ice. The obtained results will be verified against in-situ data. Lead – Nariman Firoozy.

Time series C-band scatterometer data from sea ice during the initial stage of sea ice melt (underwater heaters are on) will be collected. The scattering model will be applied to the collected physical data to investigate in-detail the radar response as function of temperature profile changes within sea ice. Lead – Alexander Komarov.

A flush-mounted antenna will be placed on the sea ice surface to measure the complex reflection coefficient in the frequency range between 3 and 6 GHz at different stages of sea ice growth and decay. An algorithm for retrieving physical properties of sea ice from the antenna measurements will be developed. Lead – Tyler Tiedet.

Field site: Sea-ice Environmental Research Facility (SERF), University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

PI: D.Barber

Project lead: A.Komarov

Project participants: Alexander Komarov (CEOS); Nariman Firoozy (CEOS); Tyler Tiedet (CEOS);  Jack Landy (CEOS); Dr. Puyan Mojabi (CEOS), Dr. Lotfollah Shafai (CEOS), Dr. David Barber (CEOS)

Fieldwork summary / photo blog