Articles | Volume 14, issue 12 
            
                
                    
            
            
            https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4405-2020
                    © Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under 
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
                the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4405-2020
                    © Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under 
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
                the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Surface-based Ku- and Ka-band polarimetric radar for sea ice studies
Julienne Stroeve
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
                                            
                                    
                                            Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, 535
Wallace Building, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada
                                        
                                    
                                            Earth Sciences Department, University College London, Gower Street,
London, WC1E 6BT, UK
                                        
                                    
                                            National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, 1540
30th Street, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
                                        
                                    Vishnu Nandan
                                            Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, 535
Wallace Building, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada
                                        
                                    Rosemary Willatt
                                            Earth Sciences Department, University College London, Gower Street,
London, WC1E 6BT, UK
                                        
                                    Rasmus Tonboe
                                            Danish Meteorological Institute, Lyngbyvej 100, 2100 Copenhagen,
Denmark
                                        
                                    Stefan Hendricks
                                            Alfred Wegener Institute, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven,
Germany
                                        
                                    Robert Ricker
                                            Alfred Wegener Institute, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven,
Germany
                                        
                                    James Mead
                                            ProSensing, 107 Sunderland Road, Amherst, MA 01002-1357, USA
                                        
                                    Robbie Mallett
                                            Earth Sciences Department, University College London, Gower Street,
London, WC1E 6BT, UK
                                        
                                    Marcus Huntemann
                                            Alfred Wegener Institute, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven,
Germany
                                        
                                    
                                            Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen,
Otto-Hahn-Allee 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany
                                        
                                    Polona Itkin
                                            Department of Physics and
Technology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, 9019, Norway
                                        
                                    Martin Schneebeli
                                            WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Fluelastrasse 11,
7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
                                        
                                    Daniela Krampe
                                            Alfred Wegener Institute, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven,
Germany
                                        
                                    Gunnar Spreen
                                            Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen,
Otto-Hahn-Allee 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany
                                        
                                    Jeremy Wilkinson
                                            British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge,
CB3 0ET, UK
                                        
                                    Ilkka Matero
                                            Alfred Wegener Institute, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven,
Germany
                                        
                                    Mario Hoppmann
                                            Alfred Wegener Institute, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven,
Germany
                                        
                                    Michel Tsamados
                                            Earth Sciences Department, University College London, Gower Street,
London, WC1E 6BT, UK
                                        
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                            Cited
22 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Simulated Ka- and Ku-band radar altimeter height and freeboard estimation on snow-covered Arctic sea ice R. Tonboe et al. 10.5194/tc-15-1811-2021
 - Classification of Sea Ice Types in the Arctic by Radar Echoes from SARAL/AltiKa R. Fredensborg Hansen et al. 10.3390/rs13163183
 - Sub-kilometre scale distribution of snow depth on Arctic sea ice from Soviet drifting stations R. Mallett et al. 10.1017/jog.2022.18
 - Airborne Investigation of Quasi-Specular Ku-Band Radar Scattering for Satellite Altimetry Over Snow-Covered Arctic Sea Ice C. De Rijke-Thomas et al. 10.1109/TGRS.2023.3318263
 - A multi-frequency altimetry snow depth product over Arctic sea ice A. Carret et al. 10.1038/s41597-024-04343-4
 - Construction of the Central Arctic Sea Ice Structure and Acoustic Velocity Model at the Short-Term Ice Station During N11 CHINARE J. Xing et al. 10.1109/TGRS.2021.3107363
 - A year-round satellite sea-ice thickness record from CryoSat-2 J. Landy et al. 10.1038/s41586-022-05058-5
 - Reservoir Ice Conditions from Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing and ERA5-Land: The Manicouagan Hydroelectric Reservoir Case Study G. Siles & R. Leconte 10.3390/hydrology10050108
 - 94 GHz Radar Backscatter Characteristics of Alpine Glacier Ice W. Harcourt et al. 10.1029/2023GL104721
 - Rain on snow (ROS) understudied in sea ice remote sensing: a multi-sensor analysis of ROS during MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) J. Stroeve et al. 10.5194/tc-16-4223-2022
 - Retrieval of Snow Depth on Arctic Sea Ice From Surface‐Based, Polarimetric, Dual‐Frequency Radar Altimetry R. Willatt et al. 10.1029/2023GL104461
 - A Practical Approach to FMCW Radar Deconvolution in the Sea Ice Domain T. Newman et al. 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3502502
 - Sea ice and snow characteristics from year-long transects at the MOSAiC Central Observatory P. Itkin et al. 10.1525/elementa.2022.00048
 - Overview of the MOSAiC expedition: Snow and sea ice M. Nicolaus et al. 10.1525/elementa.2021.000046
 - Wind redistribution of snow impacts the Ka- and Ku-band radar signatures of Arctic sea ice V. Nandan et al. 10.5194/tc-17-2211-2023
 - Enhanced sea ice classification for ICESat-2 using combined unsupervised and supervised machine learning W. Liu et al. 10.1016/j.rse.2025.114607
 - A Compact, Reconfigurable, Multi-UWB Radar for Snow Thickness Evaluation and Altimetry: Development and Field Trials F. Rodríguez-Morales et al. 10.1109/JSTARS.2021.3092313
 - Assessing CryoSat‐2 Antarctic Snow Freeboard Retrievals Using Data From ICESat‐2 S. Fons et al. 10.1029/2021EA001728
 - The effects of assimilating a sub-grid-scale sea ice thickness distribution in a new Arctic sea ice data assimilation system N. Williams et al. 10.5194/tc-17-2509-2023
 - Feasibility of retrieving Arctic sea ice thickness from the Chinese HY-2B Ku-band radar altimeter Z. Dong et al. 10.5194/tc-17-1389-2023
 - C and K band microwave penetration into snow on sea ice studied with off-the-shelf tank radars A. Jutila & C. Haas 10.1017/aog.2023.47
 - Sea Ice Remote Sensing—Recent Developments in Methods and Climate Data Sets S. Sandven et al. 10.1007/s10712-023-09781-0
 
21 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Simulated Ka- and Ku-band radar altimeter height and freeboard estimation on snow-covered Arctic sea ice R. Tonboe et al. 10.5194/tc-15-1811-2021
 - Classification of Sea Ice Types in the Arctic by Radar Echoes from SARAL/AltiKa R. Fredensborg Hansen et al. 10.3390/rs13163183
 - Sub-kilometre scale distribution of snow depth on Arctic sea ice from Soviet drifting stations R. Mallett et al. 10.1017/jog.2022.18
 - Airborne Investigation of Quasi-Specular Ku-Band Radar Scattering for Satellite Altimetry Over Snow-Covered Arctic Sea Ice C. De Rijke-Thomas et al. 10.1109/TGRS.2023.3318263
 - A multi-frequency altimetry snow depth product over Arctic sea ice A. Carret et al. 10.1038/s41597-024-04343-4
 - Construction of the Central Arctic Sea Ice Structure and Acoustic Velocity Model at the Short-Term Ice Station During N11 CHINARE J. Xing et al. 10.1109/TGRS.2021.3107363
 - A year-round satellite sea-ice thickness record from CryoSat-2 J. Landy et al. 10.1038/s41586-022-05058-5
 - Reservoir Ice Conditions from Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing and ERA5-Land: The Manicouagan Hydroelectric Reservoir Case Study G. Siles & R. Leconte 10.3390/hydrology10050108
 - 94 GHz Radar Backscatter Characteristics of Alpine Glacier Ice W. Harcourt et al. 10.1029/2023GL104721
 - Rain on snow (ROS) understudied in sea ice remote sensing: a multi-sensor analysis of ROS during MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) J. Stroeve et al. 10.5194/tc-16-4223-2022
 - Retrieval of Snow Depth on Arctic Sea Ice From Surface‐Based, Polarimetric, Dual‐Frequency Radar Altimetry R. Willatt et al. 10.1029/2023GL104461
 - A Practical Approach to FMCW Radar Deconvolution in the Sea Ice Domain T. Newman et al. 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3502502
 - Sea ice and snow characteristics from year-long transects at the MOSAiC Central Observatory P. Itkin et al. 10.1525/elementa.2022.00048
 - Overview of the MOSAiC expedition: Snow and sea ice M. Nicolaus et al. 10.1525/elementa.2021.000046
 - Wind redistribution of snow impacts the Ka- and Ku-band radar signatures of Arctic sea ice V. Nandan et al. 10.5194/tc-17-2211-2023
 - Enhanced sea ice classification for ICESat-2 using combined unsupervised and supervised machine learning W. Liu et al. 10.1016/j.rse.2025.114607
 - A Compact, Reconfigurable, Multi-UWB Radar for Snow Thickness Evaluation and Altimetry: Development and Field Trials F. Rodríguez-Morales et al. 10.1109/JSTARS.2021.3092313
 - Assessing CryoSat‐2 Antarctic Snow Freeboard Retrievals Using Data From ICESat‐2 S. Fons et al. 10.1029/2021EA001728
 - The effects of assimilating a sub-grid-scale sea ice thickness distribution in a new Arctic sea ice data assimilation system N. Williams et al. 10.5194/tc-17-2509-2023
 - Feasibility of retrieving Arctic sea ice thickness from the Chinese HY-2B Ku-band radar altimeter Z. Dong et al. 10.5194/tc-17-1389-2023
 - C and K band microwave penetration into snow on sea ice studied with off-the-shelf tank radars A. Jutila & C. Haas 10.1017/aog.2023.47
 
1 citations as recorded by crossref.
Latest update: 03 Nov 2025
Short summary
            This study provides a first look at the data collected by a new dual-frequency Ka- and Ku-band in situ radar over winter sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. The instrument shows potential for using both bands to retrieve snow depth over sea ice, as well as sensitivity of the measurements to changing snow and atmospheric conditions.
            This study provides a first look at the data collected by a new dual-frequency Ka- and Ku-band...