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Radar measurements of melt zones on the Greenland Ice SheetSurface-based microwave radar measurements were performed at a location on the western flank of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Here, firn metamorphasis is dominated by seasonal melt, which leads to marked contrasts in the vertical structure of winter and summer firn. This snow regime is also one of the brightest radar targets on Earth with an average backscatter coefficient of 0 dB at 5.3 GHz and an incidence angle of 25 deg. By combining detailed observations of firn physical properties with ranging radar measurements we find that the glaciological mechanism associated with this strong electromagnetic response is summer ice lens formation within the previous winter's snow pack. This observation has important implications for monitoring and understanding changes in ice sheet volume using spaceborne microwave sensors.
Document ID
19950038689
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Jezek, Kenneth C.
(Polar Byrd Research Center Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH, United States)
Gogineni, Prasad
(Kansas Univ. Lawrence, KS, United States)
Shanableh, M.
(Kansas Univ. Lawrence, KS, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Volume: 21
Issue: 1
ISSN: 0094-8276
Subject Category
Geophysics
Report/Patent Number
PAPER-93GL03377
Accession Number
95A70288
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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