Polarimetric and interferometric analysis of heterogeneous ice types in the ablation zone of Greenland

Abstract

In an experimental airborne SAR dataset, a complex and heterogeneous scattering pattern was found at the Russel glacier, also known as K-Transect, in western Greenland. In a first analysis, two potential ice types could be classified based on their distinct differences in scattering processes. A first glaciological theory for these two ice types is, on the one hand, temperate ice with low liquid water content and, on the other hand, cold and homogeneous glacial ice without liquid water content. A better understanding of the distribution and development of these two ice types could be a crucial information for surface-mass balance, glacier dynamics and hydro-glaciological processes.