The use of snow radar in West Antarctic ice sheet annual snow accumulation study

Snow accumulation to the ice sheet offsets ice losses near the margin, and characterizing ice sheet accumulation rate is necessary for understanding ice sheet mass balance and predicting future sea level rise. Ice penetrating radar systems enable the measurement of ice sheet properties beneath the surface, including internal layering. This study concentrates on mapping the depth of internal layers, and linking the layers to a chronology that allows snow accumulation rates over particular time periods to be determined. This study focuses on one particular ice penetrating radar system: Snow Radar from the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheet (CReSIS). The measurement error from the radar data process has been evaluated and quantified. A difference about 0.017 m caused by manual process in annual accumulation was identified between the radar derived data and true values. The chronology of Snow Radar detected layers is validated to be annual using nearby ice core data and the results of a regional climate model.