Characterizing near-surface firn using the scattered signal component of the glacier surface return from airborne radio-echo sounding

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dc.contributor.authorRutishauser, Anja
dc.contributor.authorGrima, Cyril
dc.contributor.authorSharp, Martin
dc.contributor.authorBlankenship, Donald D.
dc.contributor.authorYoung, Duncan A.
dc.contributor.authorCawkwell, Fiona
dc.contributor.authorDowdeswell, Julian A.
dc.contributor.funderNatural Environment Research Councilen
dc.contributor.funderNational Aeronautics and Space Administrationen
dc.contributor.funderNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canadaen
dc.contributor.funderUniversity of Albertaen
dc.contributor.funderAlberta Innovates - Technology Futuresen
dc.contributor.funderEnvironment Canadaen
dc.date.accessioned2017-06-16T13:41:01Z
dc.date.available2017-06-16T13:41:01Z
dc.date.issued2016-12-30
dc.date.updated2017-06-14T15:43:47Z
dc.description.abstractWe derive the scattered component (hereafter referred to as the incoherent component) of glacier surface echoes from airborne radio-echo sounding measurements over Devon Ice Cap, Arctic Canada, and compare the scattering distribution to firn stratigraphy observations from ground-based radar data. Low scattering correlates to laterally homogeneous firn above 1800 m elevation containing thin, flat, and continuous ice layers and below 1200 m elevation where firn predominantly consists of ice. Increased scattering between elevations of 1200–1800 m corresponds to firn with inhomogeneous, undulating ice layers. No correlation was found to surface roughness and its theoretical incoherent backscattering values. This indicates that the scattering component is mainly influenced by the near-surface firn stratigraphy, whereas surface roughness effects are minor. Our results suggest that analyzing the scattered signal component of glacier surface echoes is a promising approach to characterize the spatial heterogeneity of firn that is affected by melting and refreezing processes.en
dc.description.sponsorshipNatural Environment Research Council (UK NERC (NE/K004999)); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA(13-ICEE13-00018));Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC (DiscoveryGrant/Northern Research Supplement)); Alberta Innovates Technology Futures; EnvironmentCanada (CRYSYS Program); University of Alberta (Northern Research Award)en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationRutishauser, A., Grima, C., Sharp, M., Blankenship, D. D., Young, D. A., Cawkwell, F. and Dowdeswell, J. A. (2016) 'Characterizing near-surface firn using the scattered signal component of the glacier surface return from airborne radio-echo sounding', Geophysical Research Letters, 43(24), pp. 12,502-12,510. doi: 10.1002/2016GL071230en
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/2016GL071230
dc.identifier.endpage12,510en
dc.identifier.issn1944-8007
dc.identifier.issued24en
dc.identifier.journaltitleGeophysical Research Lettersen
dc.identifier.startpage12,502en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/4085
dc.identifier.volume43en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherAmerican Geophysical Unionen
dc.rights© 2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.en
dc.subjectScattering signal componenten
dc.subjectRadio-echo soundingen
dc.subjectFirn characterizationen
dc.subjectGlaciologyen
dc.subjectInstruments and techniquesen
dc.subjectGlaciersen
dc.subjectIce sheetsen
dc.titleCharacterizing near-surface firn using the scattered signal component of the glacier surface return from airborne radio-echo soundingen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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