Microwave Sea-Ice Signatures near the Onset of Melt

On June 22, 1982, the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing's Convair 580 aircraft (CCRS CV-580) made X-band SAR, Ku-band scatterometer, and K-band Radiometer measurements of the sea ice in Crozier Channel. Measurements of the physical properties of the ice and snow cover were in progress at a site in the southern portion of the CV-580 measurement area at the time of overflight. The CV-580 X-band SAR and Ku-band scatterometer were cross calibrated with the University of Kansas Heloscat to examine the frequency dependence of surface signatures. Analysis of the combined airborne and surface characterization data set shows that the microwave signatures of the surface, under the conditions present, were dominated by the snow cover and, in bare ice areas, by surface moisture. At frequencies above 9.35 GHz no scattering cross section/brightness temperature signatures could be uniquely related to ice type over the entire experiment area.