Characterization of arctic sea ice thickness using space-borne polarimetric SAR data

In this study we investigated the relationship between the depolarization effects and winter-time sea ice thickness in the landfast ice region where smooth first-year ice and deformed old ice co-existed, by using C- and X-band polarimetric satellite SAR data. Acquisitions of high-resolution SAR data with multiple satellite platforms (TerraSAR-X and Radarsat-2) were coordinated during a sea ice field campaign examining landfast sea ice on the coast of northern Greenland. We describe a sensitivity study of depolarization factors (co-polarized correlation and cross-polarized ratio), which can be used to estimate the degree of the depolarization effect using extended Bragg model. We found a strong correlation between ice thickness and the depolarization factors, suggesting that depolarization factors can be effective parameters in the estimation of sea ice thickness, particularly in an area where thick FYI and MYI co-exit.