A backscattering model for bubbles in lake ice and comparisons with satellite and airborne SAR data

The observations using an airborne SAR have been carried out in conjunction with RADARSAT SAR observations of the lake ice in the northeastern part of Hokkaido, Japan, and of the sea ice in the Sea of Okhotsk, in February 1998 and 1999. In situ observations have also been performed on the lakes in order to understand the radar backscattering mechanism. The strong SAR backscattering from the lake ice has been modeled in terms of the angle-dependent Mie scattering from sphere bubbles in the ice. The incidence angle dependence of the calculated backscattering coefficient was derived with frequency and polarization as parameters. The backscattering coefficients obtained by the model calculations were consistent with the SAR data