What was the purpose of IceSAR 2012?

In the frame of IceSAR 2012, airborne SAR campaigns were carried out in Greenland in support of the Biomass candidate Earth Explorer mission. The secondary objectives suggested for Biomass include (i) ice velocity, (ii) ice extinction and subsurface structure of glaciers and ice sheets.

For these applications, the larger wavelength and deeper penetration of P-band is expected to provide significant advantages over higher frequencies or to offer a complementary performance. IceSAR 2012 also addresses likely disadvantages of P-band, e.g. low backscatter, volume decorrelation, and the coarse resolution resulting from the small bandwidth allocated at P-band

What was the outcome of IceSAR 2012?

In the frame of IceSAR 2012 SAR data have been acquired in Greenland with the airborne POLARIS radar in order to assess P-band radiometric, polarimetric, interferometric, and tomographic signatures and to generate prototype ice motion and ice subsurface structure products in support of the Biomass candidate mission. Campaigns over the K-transect in West Greenland were conducted in April, May, and June. Reference GPS data and other in-situ data were acquired throughout the campaign period. Subsequently, the tomographic POLARIS data have been level-0 processed by DTU and handed over to PoliMi for tomographic processing and analysis, while all other POLARIS data have been level-1 processed, calibrated, and used for signature analysis and ice velocity measurements.

Download the IceSAR 2012 Final Report

Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-36z117i - IceSAR: "Technical Assistance during the 2012 ICESAR Validation Campaign; Final Report"

The campaign data is available online via FTPS upon submission of a data access request. An active EO Sign In account is required to submit the request.

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