The Cryosphere
The Cryosphere
TC
Articles | Volume 20, issue 1
Articles | Volume 20, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-699-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-699-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 20, issue 1
Research article
 | 
28 Jan 2026
Research article |  | 28 Jan 2026

Characterization of ice features in the southwest Greenland ablation zone using multi-modal SAR data

Sara-Patricia Schlenk, Georg Fischer, Matteo Pardini, and Irena Hajnsek

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Cited articles

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Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) revealed ice features of unknown origin in southwest Greenland’s ablation zone. Using SAR techniques, we identified low-backscatter areas with surface scattering, contrasting with surrounding high-backscatter areas from the subsurface. Our theory relates the low backscatter to residual liquid water in a weathering crust and the surrounding to bare glacier ice, suggesting that long-wavelength SAR could help monitor crust formation and near-surface meltwater storage.

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