Characterization of Glacier Subsurface Using Sar Polarimetry at L- and P-band

Glaciers and ice sheets represent sensitive indicators of climate change being their properties strictly related to the environmental temperature and its fluctuations. Therefore, the interest in studying these components of the Cryosphere has strongly increased in recent years. The need of observations on a global scale has promoted airborne and satellite remote sensing techniques for glaciological applications. In particular, synthetic aperture radars (SARs) led to significant improvements in scale as well as temporal and spatial resolution of cryospheric observations. Long wavelengths SAR sensors have the capability to penetrate into the ice, interacting with surface as well as sub-surface (up to several tens of meters depth) structures. This makes the scattering scenario very complex; consequently SAR backscattering from glaciers and ice sheets remains not completely understood. In this study we present first results of a polarimetric decomposition technique based on the scattering model introduced in [1]. Different scattering component are considered, according to the specific glacier facies where the test sites are located. Validation is performed using airborne Pol-SAR data at Land P-band collected by the DLR’s E-SAR system within the ICESAR campaign in Svalbard, Norway. Tomographic analysis and a set of ground measurements are also employed to support the decomposition results.