Radar Backscatter Database of Sea Ice Types Using Operational Analysis of Heterogeneous Ice Regimes

A new algorithm has been developed to compile a database of radiometric emission/scattering from different surfaces based on satellite observations obtained from heterogeneous areas that comprise those surfaces. An application is presented to compile a backscatter database of ice types during the freeze-up season in the Canadian Arctic using operational analysis of Radarsat-1 images from the Canadian Ice Services. Mean backscatter of each ice types is presented as a function of radar incidence angle. Backscatter from open sea water and sea water confined between ice floes are also presented as function of radar incidence angle and surface wind speed. In general, the output backscatter differs from backscatter obtained from homogeneous “training” areas but it confirms the underlying physics of radar interaction with sea ice. The algorithm also identifies anomalies in the visual analysis of Radarsat images, which is used as an input. Anomalies are areas in which the analysis results are not consistent with the results from the entire record of the image analysis. This is the first quantitative measure to assess the robustness of this analysis.