Paper Info
Title
A Comparison of Snow Depth on Sea Ice Retrievals Using Airborne Altimeters and an AMSR-E Simulator
Abstract
A comparison of snow depths on sea ice was made using airborne altimeters and an Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) simulator. The data were collected during the March 2006 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Arctic field campaign utilizing the NASA P-3B aircraft. The campaign consisted of an initial series of coordinated surface and aircraft measurements over Elson Lagoon, Alaska and adjacent seas followed by a series of large-scale (100 km × 50 km) coordinated aircraft and AMSR-E snow depth measurements over portions of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. This paper focuses on the latter part of the campaign. The P-3B aircraft carried the University of Colorado Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer (PSR-A), the NASA Wallops Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) lidar altimeter, and the University of Kansas Delay-Doppler (D2P) radar altimeter. The PSR-A was used as an AMSR-E simulator, whereas the ATM and D2P altimeters were used in combination to provide an independent estimate of snow depth. Results of a comparison between the altimeter-derived snow depths and the equivalent AMSR-E snow depths using PSR-A brightness temperatures calibrated relative to AMSR-E are presented. Data collected over a frozen coastal polynya were used to intercalibrate the ATM and D2P altimeters before estimating an altimeter snow depth. Results show that the mean difference between the PSR and altimeter snow depths is -2.4 cm (PSR minus altimeter) with a standard deviation of 7.7 cm. The RMS difference is 8.0 cm. The overall correlation between the two snow depth data sets is 0.59.
Year
DOI
Venue
2012
10.1109/TGRS.2011.2180535
Geoscience and Remote Sensing, IEEE Transactions
Keywords
DocType
Volume
height measurement,hydrological techniques,oceanographic regions,radiometry,remote sensing by laser beam,remote sensing by radar,sea ice,snow,AD 2006 03,AMSR-E simulator,Alaska,Beaufort sea,Chukchi sea,Earth Observing System,Elson Lagoon,NASA Arctic field campaign,advanced microwave scanning radiometer,airborne altimeters,airborne topographic mapper lidar altimeter,brightness temperature,delay-Doppler radar altimeter,polarimetric scanning radiometer,sea ice retrievals,snow depth,Airborne altimetry,passive microwave remote sensing,sea ice,snow on sea ice
Journal
50
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
8
0196-2892
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
0
12
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Donald J. Cavalieri1579.63
T. Markus218845.80
Alvaro Ivanoff3213.66
Jeff A. Miller400.34
Ludovic Brucker5224.49
Matthew Sturm6308.82
James Maslanik720.71
John F. Heinrichs8155.23
Albin J. Gasiewski97119.68
Carl Leuschen10216.17
William Krabill1152.55
John Sonntag12143.81