Remote profiling of lake ice thickness using a short pulse radar system aboard a C-47 aircraft

Description of the design and operation of two new short-pulse radar systems developed for use aboard aircraft for remote profiling of lake ice thickness. The principle of operation is based on the fact that the return signal is composed of a pulse return from the top of the ice and another, delayed in time, from the ice-water interface. The delay time between these two pulses directly gives the ice thickness when allowance is made for the slower RF propagation through the ice. The two systems are the S band and the C band systems, and their comparative merits are discussed.