Version 1
: Received: 22 May 2017 / Approved: 23 May 2017 / Online: 23 May 2017 (08:46:30 CEST)
Version 2
: Received: 14 July 2017 / Approved: 17 July 2017 / Online: 17 July 2017 (17:00:23 CEST)
Feasibility of GNSS-R Ice Sheet Altimetry in Greenland Using TDS-1, by Antonio Rius, Estel Cardellach, Fran Fabra, Weiqiang Li, Serni Ribó and Manuel Hernández-Pajares
Feasibility of GNSS-R Ice Sheet Altimetry in Greenland Using TDS-1, by Antonio Rius, Estel Cardellach, Fran Fabra, Weiqiang Li, Serni Ribó and Manuel Hernández-Pajares
Feasibility of GNSS-R Ice Sheet Altimetry in Greenland Using TDS-1, by Antonio Rius, Estel Cardellach, Fran Fabra, Weiqiang Li, Serni Ribó and Manuel Hernández-Pajares
Feasibility of GNSS-R Ice Sheet Altimetry in Greenland Using TDS-1, by Antonio Rius, Estel Cardellach, Fran Fabra, Weiqiang Li, Serni Ribó and Manuel Hernández-Pajares
Abstract
Radar altimetry provides valuable measurements to characterize the state and the evolution of the Antartica and Greenland ice sheet cover. Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) has the potential capacity of complementing the dedicated radar altimeters incrementing the temporal and spatial resolution of the surface height measurements. In this work we perform an study of the Greenland ice sheet using data obtained by the GNSS-R instrument aboard the British TechDemoSat-1 (TDS-1) satellite mission, designed primarily to provide sea state information, like sea surface roughness or wind, but not altimetric products. The data has been analyzed with altimetric methodologies, already proved in aircraft based experiments, to extract signal delay observables to be used to infer the topography of the Greenland cover. The penetration depth of the GNSS signals into ice has also considered. The topographic signal obtained is consistent with those obtained with other passive or active microwave sensors. The main conclusion derived from this work is that GNSS-R also provides valuable measurements of the ice sheet cover and, as taken at a variety of geometries and at least two frequency bands, they prospect different depths into the ice. They have thus potential to complement our understanding of the ice firn and its evolution.
Subject Areas
GNSS-R; ice sheet; TDS-1; greenland; altimetry
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Antonio Rius
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