Polarimetric Decomposition of L- and P-band SAR Backscatter Over the Superimposed Ice Zone of a Sub-Polar Ice-Cap

Abstract

The potential of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for monitoring glaciers and ice sheets has been widely recognized in the last decades. Nevertheless, most of the studies conducted over land ice employing SAR observations focus on the qualitative analysis of polarimetric backscatter, usually supported by alternative remote sensing techniques or ground-based observations. The penetration of microwaves into glacier subsurface makes the modelling of polarimetric SAR (Pol-SAR) backscatter a powerful tool to retrieve information about the near-surface structure of a glacier. In this paper, a new polarimetric volume scattering model is introduced for the physical interpretation of long-wavelength L- and P-band Pol-SAR observables from a sub-polar ice cap.