Analysis of glacier flow dynamics from preliminary RADARSAT InSAR data of the Antarctic Mapping Mission

The entire continent of Antarctica was mapped at a 25 meter resolution with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) during the Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Project (RAMP) over a 30 day period in the fall of 1997 providing a static “snapshot” of the ice sheet. Since Radarsat-l has a 24-day orbit cycle, repeat-pass interferometric SAR (InSAR) data was also acquired. The extensive InSAR data will provide a view of ice sheet kinematics. The authors present the results of analysis of an InSAR pair for the Recovery Glacier, East Antarctica. Analysis of the Recovery Glacier data set has demonstrated the excellent quality of InSAR data available from the Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Mission and its application to glacier dynamics. Phase coherence is high over most this highly dynamic area even though the temporal baseline is 24 days. The coherence image enhances subtle ice sheet topography and indicates the location of shear margins and the grounding line. A radar line-of sight ice velocity map identified a large region of slow moving ice that drains the Shackelton Range. Longitudinal stain rates along a flow line within the main ice stream were calculated directly from the wrapped phase