Joint Active and Passive Microwave Thermometry of Ice Sheets

Measurement of ice-sheet thermal state via microwave remote sensing techniques has the potential to provide critically needed observations on englacial temperature at the local and continental scale. Better constraints of the vertical englacial temperature structure are needed to improve understanding of thermomechanical processes, ice rheology, and basal sliding, and to reduce uncertainty in interpretations of basal conditions such as material, roughness, and thermal state. We investigate the potential to combine active and passive microwave remote sensing techniques, namely ice-penetrating radar sounding and microwave radiometry, to enable more precise, accurate, and robust measurement of ice-sheet thermal state across widely varying thermal regimes. We simulate the effects of englacial temperature profiles on the attenuation and brightness temperature and explore the performance tradeoffs for joint radar-radiometer system architectures. Our analysis shows that active and passive microwave measurements have complementary sensitivities to englacial temperature as a function of depth, and that a ground-based joint radar-radiometer system can reduce the requirements and complexity demanded of each single instrument.

Automated summary

Measurement of ice-sheet thermal state using microwave remote sensing techniques can provide critical observations on englacial temperature at various scales. Active and passive microwave remote sensing methods have been investigated to improve the measurement of ice-sheet thermal state by considering the effects of englacial temperature profiles. The analysis shows that a joint radar-radiometer system can effectively reduce the complexity and requirements of individual instruments.