Interpretation of simulated radar-altimetric waveforms: surfaces of constant elevation (sea-ice or flat land)

Abstract

For simple terrains consisting of two types of surface with contrasting. constant backscattering coefficient and no change in elevation, analysis of a train of simulated individual waveforms (i.e., returned power versus time-delay of returning signal) reveals the geographical boundaries separating the component surfaces. Examples are presented for an isolated bright region, a sinusoidal margin (for example, between sea-ice and open sea, or between two types of ground cover), and two isolated dim regions (for example, large ice floes, or fields of different soil-type or low-growing vegetation). If one type of surface is interspersed in patches over the other (as in the case of numerous small floes in a marginal ice zone, or a low-growing crop that only partially covers the soil), the fractional areas covered by each can be determined. The ratio of backscattering coefficients may also be inferrable.

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Notes on contributors

E. NOVOTNY

Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OHA, U.K.