An evaluation of SeaWinds/QuikSCAT data for the estimation of the decay status of first-year sea ice

This analysis evaluates the temporal evolution of the microwave backscatter coefficient (sigmadeg) and VV/HH sigmadeg co-polarization ratio from Qscat for estimating sea ice thermodynamics. Qscat sigmadeg were compared against RADARSAT-1 SAR sigmadeg and in situ data from the Collaborative Interdisciplinary Cryospheric Experiment (C-ICE) for 2000, 2001, and 2002 were used as validation. Results indicate that the temporal evolution of sigmadeg from Qscat is analogous to RADARSAT-1. The Qscat sigmadeg temporal evolution has the ability to identify Winter, Snow Melt, and Ponding thermodynamic states. Moreover, the co-polarization VV/HH ratio of Qscat provides a more robust estimate of the Ponding state and identifies the Drainage state that is difficult to detect by single polarization SAR