Passive microwave in situ observations of winter Weddell Sea ice

Abstract

The microwave radiative characteristics of Antarctic sea ice during a winter period were investigated continuously from R/V Polarstern during the 1986 Winter Weddell Sea Project while the ship went through about 3000 km of ice from the marginal ice zone to the coastal region and back. Radiometer measurements at 6, 10, 18, 37, and 90 GHz in vertical and horizontal polarizations were complemented by visual and video observations and measurements at 60 stations of ice thickness, salinity, temperature, snow cover, density, and other physical characteristics. Analysis of the data shows a large variability in the multispectral microwave emissivities of different ice types, especially at 90 GHz. -from Authors