Journal article
Greenland 2012 melt event effects on CryoSat-2 radar altimetry
National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark1
Geodynamics, National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark2
KU Leuven3
University of Copenhagen4
Research Organization of Information and Systems, National Institute of Polar Research5
Nagaoka National College of Technology6
CryoSat-2 data are used to study elevation changes over an area in the interior part of the Greenland Ice Sheet during the extreme melt event in July 2012. The penetration of the radar signal into dry snow depends heavily on the snow stratigraphy, and the rapid formation of refrozen ice layers can bias the surface elevations obtained from radar altimetry.
We investigate the change in CryoSat-2 waveforms and elevation estimates over the melt event and interpret the findings by comparing in situ surface and snow pit observations from the North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling Project camp. The investigation shows a major transition of scattering properties around the area, and an apparent elevation increase of 56±26 cm is observed in reprocessed CryoSat-2 data.
We suggest that this jump in elevation can be explained by the formation of a refrozen melt layer that raised the reflective surface, introducing a positive elevation bias.
| Language: | English |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2015 |
| Pages: | 3919-3926 |
| ISSN: | 19448007 and 00948276 |
| Types: | Journal article |
| DOI: | 10.1002/2015GL063296 |
| ORCIDs: | Simonsen, Sebastian Bjerregaard , Sørensen, Louise Sandberg , Forsberg, René , 0000-0003-1055-7235 , 0000-0002-1474-1948 , 0000-0002-9665-1339 and 0000-0002-3781-9509 |
