Automated Measurements of Coherent Backscatter Enhancement at Ku-Band For Snow Parameter Retrieval

Abstract

We present two novel experimental setups for automated measurement of coherent backscatter enhancement (also known as the coherent backscatter opposition effect – CBOE) of Kuband radio waves in seasonal snow cover. The experimental setups were developed in order to enable fast and repeatable measurements of the effect’s properties, through quickly altering the bistatic baseline of the radar system between zero and eight meters. The experimental setups were tested in December 2023 at the High Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch in Switzerland, yielding a novel dataset exploring the properties of the early-winter snow cover on top of the Great Aletsch Glacier, as well as allowing a comparison of the benefits and drawbacks of the two experimental setups. We present preliminary results of these experiments, as well as discuss the potential of such measurements for improving our understanding of radio wave scattering in snow.