Articles | Volume 16, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5061-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5061-2022
Research article
 | 
21 Dec 2022
Research article |  | 21 Dec 2022

The sensitivity of satellite microwave observations to liquid water in the Antarctic snowpack

Ghislain Picard, Marion Leduc-Leballeur, Alison F. Banwell, Ludovic Brucker, and Giovanni Macelloni

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Cited articles

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Short summary
Using a snowpack radiative transfer model, we investigate in which conditions meltwater can be detected from passive microwave satellite observations from 1.4 to 37 GHz. In particular, we determine the minimum detectable liquid water content, the maximum depth of detection of a buried wet snow layer and the risk of false alarm due to supraglacial lakes. These results provide information for the developers of new, more advanced satellite melt products and for the users of the existing products.