Measurements of 540-1740 MHz Brightness Temperatures of Sea Ice During the Winter of the MOSAiC Campaign

A ground-based ultra-wideband radiometer operating at 540, 900, 1380, and 1740 MHz was used to measure microwave thermal emissions from an Arctic sea ice floe as part of the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) Expedition. The instrument was deployed on a drifting ice floe near 86 degrees N, 120 degrees E in leg 1 of the expedition (December 2019) and observed second-year ice (potentially with refrozen melt ponds) that experienced new ice growth at its base over a ten-day period. Measured circularly polarized brightness temperatures were compared with the predictions of a radiative transfer (RT) model for a layered medium consisting of ocean, growing new ice, desalinated remnant second-year ice/refrozen melt pond, and snow layers. Characteristics of the sea ice composition used in the model were determined from in-situ measurements. Comparisons of the measured and modeled wideband brightness temperatures showed good agreement consistently over the observation period and for various off-nadir observation angles. The results demonstrate the capabilities of 0.5-2 GHz microwave radiometry for observing sea ice properties and also show the impact of a saline ice layer at the ice bottom on the measured brightness temperature.

Automated summary

In this study, a ground-based ultra-wideband radiometer was used to measure microwave thermal emissions from an Arctic sea ice floe. The measured circularly polarized brightness temperatures were compared with a radiative transfer model, showing good agreement consistently over the observation period. The results demonstrate the capabilities of 0.5-2 GHz microwave radiometry for observing sea ice properties and also show the impact of a saline ice layer at the ice bottom on the measured brightness temperature.