Polar Remote Sensing

by Massom, Robert; Lubin, Dan

• ISBN13: 9783540261018
• ISBN10: 354026101X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-01-30
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

Volume 2 is a companion to Volume 1. It is a comprehensive description of satellite remote sensing applications to all aspects of polar glaciology, including not only ice sheets but also icebergs and interactions between ice sheets and the atmosphere and the ocean. It also includes a chapter on the important new field of satellite synthetic-aperture rader interfermetry. There should be something of interest to most polar researchers and those interested in climate research. As in Volume 1, Volume 2 includes a review of the current state of each discipline, including current questions and issues and related suggestions for research applications of satellite remote sensing. There are many satellite remote sensing texts available, but very few are specifically tailored to, or even contain significant information on the Earth's polar regions. The text is sufficiently comprehensive to summarize fundamental principles of detectors, imaging and geophysical product retrieval, in three dedicated chapters. In effect, the text serves as much as possible as a "one stop shop" for polar remote sensing information. As with Volume 1, the book is extensively referenced, and in an up-to-date fashion. In addition to purely scientific applications, the book also discusses practical and operational issues, such as how polar satellite data can be obtained and how they can be used in expedition planning and logistics.This book is up to date, covering applications of both "heritage" (multi-decadal) remote sensing time series, and new applications from NASA Earth Observing System and similar sensors launched since the year 2000. It also covers future missions.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
List of figures	xiii
List of tables	xxi
List of abbreviations	xxiii
About the author	xxix
Publisher credits	xxxi
Polar ice sheets: Introduction	1	(38)
The global importance of polar ice sheets	1	(9)
Ice-sheet mass balance---background information	10	(11)
Comparative characteristics of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets	16	(1)
Approaches to the measurement of ice-sheet mass balance	16	(5)
The recent revolution in satellite remote sensing	21	(3)
References	24	(15)
Synthetic aperture radar interferometry and related techniques	39	(98)
Introduction and background	39	(2)
Underlying principles and terminology of InSAR	41	(14)
The basis of ice sheet surface elevation and motion measurement by satellite repeat-pass interferometry	46	(4)
Measurement of ice-surface displacement/motion	50	(4)
What is an interferogram?	54	(1)
Inherent constraints and sources of ambiguity and error	55	(16)
Thermal decorrelation	56	(1)
Temporal decorrelation	57	(2)
Decorrelation due to excessive target motion/rotation	59	(1)
Atmospheric and ionospheric propagation delay	60	(2)
Baseline (spatial) decorrelation	62	(1)
Volume decorrelation, and ambiguities relating to radar penetration depth and volume scattering	63	(3)
Image speckle	66	(1)
Geometric distortions and steep terrain effects	67	(1)
Estimation of phase decorrelation	67	(3)
Processing errors and other sources of ambiguity	70	(1)
Summary of baseline-related trade-offs	70	(1)
Satellite-SAR interferometric data requirements and processing steps	71	(19)
Selection of suitable SAR images	74	(7)
Geometric co-registration	81	(1)
Pre-processing and interferogram generation	82	(2)
Phase unwrapping	84	(5)
Phase-to-height conversion	89	(1)
Interferogram geo-coding	89	(1)
The measurement of ice-sheet elevation and surface velocity using differential InSAR techniques	90	(11)
Ice-sheet topography from DInSAR	92	(1)
Retrieval of ice-sheet surface motion	93	(8)
Tidal effects on InSAR retrievals over floating ice	101	(1)
Ice-sheet surface motion retrieval by speckle tracking	101	(7)
Ice-sheet surface motion retrieval by coherence tracking	108	(1)
Relative strengths and weaknesses of differential InSAR, coherence tracking, and intensity tracking	109	(2)
Polarimetric Interferometric SAR (Pol-InSAR)	111	(1)
Developments and outstanding issues	112	(4)
References	116	(21)
Satellite remote sensing of ice sheet parameters and processes	137	(250)
Introduction	137	(1)
Improved detection and mapping of surface features	137	(27)
High-resolution visible--thermal infrared methods	137	(8)
Moderate-resolution visible/thermal infrared	145	(6)
Synthetic aperture radar	151	(7)
The mapping of ice-sheet facies	158	(6)
Detection, mapping and monitoring of ice-sheet surface melt and refreezing	164	(11)
Visible and thermal infrared techniques	164	(2)
Active-microwave techniques	166	(3)
Passive-microwave techniques	169	(5)
Estimation of surface melt rates	174	(1)
Detection and mapping of changes in ice-sheet margins	175	(11)
The collapse of the Larsen Ice Shelf	177	(6)
Examples of recent change in the configuration of other glacier systems	183	(3)
Icebergs	186	(23)
Iceberg detection and size statistics	186	(13)
Monitoring iceberg drift	199	(7)
Measurement of iceberg thickness	206	(3)
Measurement of ice sheet topography/elevation and change in elevation	209	(31)
Surface elevation from satellite radar altimetry	211	(18)
Surface elevation from laser altimetry	229	(5)
Improved digital elevation model construction using satellite image-based photoclinometry	234	(3)
Surface elevation from SAR interferometry (InSAR)	237	(3)
Accumulation rate	240	(7)
Ice velocity, strain rate, and balance velocity/flux	247	(29)
Feature tracking	250	(7)
SAR interferometry and ice velocity	257	(8)
Balance velocities and fluxes	265	(3)
Strain rates	268	(3)
Detection of variability in ice flow and surge behavior	271	(3)
Ice shelf buttressing, and the impact of ice shelf removal on outlet glaciers	274	(2)
Tidal displacement of ice shelves and glacier tongues	276	(3)
Grounding-line (zone) detection and monitoring	279	(2)
Estimates of ice discharge flux and basal melt/freeze rates	281	(7)
The measurement of changes in ice mass by satellite gravity sensors	288	(1)
The radar sounding of ice sheets from space	289	(2)
Ice-sheet surface temperature	291	(8)
Thermal infrared techniques	292	(3)
Passive-microwave techniques	295	(4)
Ice sheet surface albedo	299	(10)
Grain size, impurity content, and surface to near-surface characteristics	309	(12)
Snow-grain size and impurity content	309	(3)
Changes in snow/firn characteristics inferred from passive-microwave data	312	(3)
Ice sheet roughness characteristics and proxy wind measurements	315	(3)
Active-microwave remote sensing of ice-sheet surface and near-surface characteristics	318	(3)
Conclusions	321	(2)
References	323	(64)
Appendix	387	(10)
Index	397