A backscattering and propagation model for radar sounding of ice sheets

Abstract

In this paper the electromagnetic properties of the continental ice sheets are modeled with the aim of assessing the feasibility of space-based radar ice sounding at P-band. The paper focuses on the model itself, as distinct from the estimation of model parameters and the exploitation of the model. The scattering and propagation properties of the ice sheets are characterized using an empirical approach. The model comprises surface scattering from the air/ice interface and the ice/bed interface as well as volume scattering from the firn and the ice. Also specular reflection from the internal layers is modeled. In combination with simple models of the ice sounding radar and the geometry, the electromagnetic model estimates the return waveform and its constituents, such that sensitivity and clutter masking issues can be assessed.