Investigations into Frost Flower Physical Characteristics and the C-Band Scattering Response
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Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V6, Canada
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Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V6, Canada
3
Bristol Glaciology Centre, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1HB, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Remote Sens. 2018, 10(7), 991; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10070991
Received: 9 May 2018
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Revised: 12 June 2018
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Accepted: 19 June 2018
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Published: 22 June 2018
A dedicated study on the physical characteristics and C-band scattering response of frost-flower-covered sea ice was performed in an artificial sea ice mesocosm over a 36-h period in January 2017. Meteorological conditions were observed and recorded automatically at the facility when the sea ice grew and frost flowers formed while the C-band scattering measurements were conducted continuously over a range of incidence angles. Surface roughness was characterized using a LiDAR. During the experiment, frost flowers did not initially form on the extremely smooth ice surface even though suitable meteorological conditions prevailed during their development (low air temperature, low near-surface wind speed, and high near-surface relative humidity). This provides evidence that both the presence of (i) liquid brine at the surface and (ii) raised nodules as nucleation points are required to enable frost flower initiation. As the ice thickened, we observed that raised nodules gradually appeared, frost flowers formed, and flowers subsequently spread to cover the surface over a six-hour period. In contrast to previous experiments, the frost flower layer did not become visibly saturated with liquid brine. The C-band scattering measurements exhibited increases as high as 14.8 dB (vertical polarization) in response to the frost flower formation with low incidence angles (i.e., 25°) showing the largest dynamic range. Co-polarization ratios responded to the physical and thermodynamic changes associated with the frost flower formation process. Our results indicate that brine expulsion at the sea ice surface and frost flower salination can have substantial temporal variability, which can be detected by scatterometer time-series measurements. This work contributes towards the operational satellite image interpretation for Arctic waters by improving our understanding of the highly variable C-band microwave scattering properties of young sea ice types.
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Keywords:
radar; microwave; scatterometer; LiDAR; Arctic; sea ice; frost flowers; surface roughness; NRCS
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MDPI and ACS Style
Isleifson, D.; Galley, R.J.; Firoozy, N.; Landy, J.C.; Barber, D.G. Investigations into Frost Flower Physical Characteristics and the C-Band Scattering Response. Remote Sens. 2018, 10, 991. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10070991
AMA Style
Isleifson D, Galley RJ, Firoozy N, Landy JC, Barber DG. Investigations into Frost Flower Physical Characteristics and the C-Band Scattering Response. Remote Sensing. 2018; 10(7):991. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10070991
Chicago/Turabian StyleIsleifson, Dustin, Ryan J. Galley, Nariman Firoozy, Jack C. Landy, and David G. Barber. 2018. "Investigations into Frost Flower Physical Characteristics and the C-Band Scattering Response" Remote Sensing 10, no. 7: 991. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10070991
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