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GPR for rapid and accurate snow-thickness measurements on Antarctic sea ice
Citation
Lieser, J and Pfaffhuber, A and Haas, C, GPR for rapid and accurate snow-thickness measurements on Antarctic sea ice, 35th SCAR Biennial Meetings, 19-23 June 2018, Davos, Switzerland, pp. A-938-0058-00065. (2018) [Conference Extract]
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Abstract
Snow thickness on sea ice is not known on the regional scales and to the accuracy required
for climate analysis and to assess its significant role in the Earth's cryosphere mass balance.
The thickness of snow on sea ice is a largely under-sampled, but crucially important
parameter when estimating sea-ice thickness from space-borne sensors. Traditional
sampling methods comprise meter-stick measurements or snow probes, which yield highly
accurate data but are sparse in space and time, whereas remote sensing data have the
potential to cover large areas but exhibit large uncertainties. To increase the local data
volume and to apply as an intermediate level for remote-sensing data validation, we present
non-destructive ground-penetrating radar (GPR) snow-thickness data of remarkable
accuracy (millimetre to centimetre) when compared to in-situ data. The semi-regional data
collected during two Antarctic campaigns in late winter/early spring confirm the
underestimation of snow thickness on sea ice using remote-sensing methods by roughly
30%. The radar wave propagation was found to be rather constant in snow (+/- 6%),
supporting the applicability of GPR for regional snow thickness surveys of snow thicker than
10cm, which was the detection limit of the off-the-shelf GPR setup used in this study.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Conference Extract |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | snow on sea ice, Antarctica, GPR |
| Research Division: | Earth Sciences |
| Research Group: | Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience |
| Research Field: | Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience not elsewhere classified |
| Objective Division: | Environment |
| Objective Group: | Climate and Climate Change |
| Objective Field: | Effects of Climate Change and Variability on Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Environments (excl. Social Impacts) |
| UTAS Author: | Lieser, J (Dr Jan Lieser) |
| ID Code: | 126032 |
| Year Published: | 2018 |
| Deposited By: | CRC-Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems |
| Deposited On: | 2018-05-18 |
| Last Modified: | 2018-07-09 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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