Ice Sheet Thermomety Using Wideband Radiometry

There are good correlations between L-band brightness temperature data from the ESA Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission and the thickness and surface temperature of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. These data along with independent, radiative-transfer modeling-studies suggest that it is possible to estimate the internal, physical temperatures of ice sheets to some, perhaps great, depth. Such a measurement is necessary to improve ice sheet models which rely on temperature-dependent deformation rates within the body of the ice sheet. In this paper we review our most recent modeling which now includes the effect of layering in near surface firn. We go on to compare L-band satellite data with modeled brightness temperatures at several sites in Greenland and Antarctica where physical temperature has been measured. We show the brightness temperature response over the band 0.5 to 2 GHz including the influence of basal-water on the low frequency range of this band. We conclude by summarizing our current design of an ultra-wide-band radiometer intended to make ice sheet thermometry measurements. We plan to deploy the airborne instrument in Greenland in two years’ time.