Radars - Snow Radar
Snow Radar
(NASA P-3B and DC-8)
› View larger image Another of the radar systems used in Operation IceBridge is CReSIS’s snow radar. This instrument measures the thickness of snow on top of sea ice, which allows researchers to make more accurate sea ice thickness measurements. Scientists can measure sea ice freeboard, or the amount above the water’s surface, and using the known ratio of ice above and below water to calculate thickness. Snow accumulation can give higher freeboard figures, skewing these results, so knowing snow accumulation is important for measuring sea ice thickness.
› View larger
An example of the data returned by Snow Radar.
(NASA P-3B and DC-8)
› View larger image Another of the radar systems used in Operation IceBridge is CReSIS’s snow radar. This instrument measures the thickness of snow on top of sea ice, which allows researchers to make more accurate sea ice thickness measurements. Scientists can measure sea ice freeboard, or the amount above the water’s surface, and using the known ratio of ice above and below water to calculate thickness. Snow accumulation can give higher freeboard figures, skewing these results, so knowing snow accumulation is important for measuring sea ice thickness.
› View largerAn example of the data returned by Snow Radar.