Ice-sheet sounding at X, L and UHF bands from high altitude by vertical SAR imaging

Abstract:
Though generally used for side-looking “push-broom” imaging, the synthetic aperture radar principle can, as well, be applied to nadir looking vertical plane imaging. Vertical SAR has proven useful e.g. for high altitude altimetric accurate navigation resetting. During the 2017 ONERA campaign in Greenland, this imaging mode was investigated for assessment of snow/ice radar penetration in the ice-sheet. At UHF-band, it provides a clear image of subsurface ice density discontinuities up to a depth of few tens of meters, comparable to images obtained from ground penetrating radar (GPR) operated directly at the surface. The possibility of acquiring such images from a safer distance at a much higher velocity should increase the throughput of future glaciology campaigns on polar ice-sheets.