Ice thickness measurement using P-Band radar

Sea ice thickness measurement is very important since it can be considered as an indicator of the state of ocean circulation and associated air-sea heat exchange within the Polar Regions. As a result, it can have a significant impact on global heat balance and ocean thermohaline circulation. However, obtaining sea ice thickness in a large area with sufficiently high accuracy and sensitivity is very challenging since it shows a great amount of spatial and temporal variability. The approaches reported in the past have significant restrictions in penetration depth, sensitivity and logistics. Airborne SAR radar systems provide information with high sensitivity and resolution. The microwave signals in P-band region are capable of penetrating the ice thickness by their relatively long wave lengths and thus provide reflections from air-ice and ice-water interfaces. The amplitude and phase characteristics of reflected signals possess important information on sea ice. The proposed research is aimed to understand physical ice-radar interaction at P-band and capture these reflections through filtering and smoothing and the information will be used to extract the thickness measurements with high accuracy.

Faculty Supervisor:

Ray Gosine

Student:

Awantha Jayasiri

Partner:

C-CORE

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Oil and gas

University:

Memorial University of Newfoundland