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Kwok, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Kwok, R..

At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1997

A Laboratory Study of the Effect of Frost Flowers on C Band Radar Backscatter from Sea Ice

C band images of Arctic sea ice taken by the ERS 1 synthetic aperture radar show transitory regions of enhanced radar backscatter from young sea ice. Published field observations associate this increase with frost flower growth and the capture of blowing snow by the flowers. To investigate the first part of this phenomenon, we carried out a laboratory experiment on the response of C band radar backscatter to frost flowers growing on the surface of newly formed saline ice. The experiment took place in a 5 m by 7 m by 1.2 m deep saline water pool located in a two-story indoor refrigerated facility at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. Sodium chloride ice was grown in this pool at an air temperature of -28 C. The frost flowers first appeared on the ice surface as dendrites and then changed to needles as the ice sheet grew thicker and the surface temperatures became colder. The frost flowers reached to a height of 10-15 mm, and beneath each cluster of frost flowers a slush layer formed to a thickness of approximately 4 mm. Far-field radar measurements of the backscatter from the ice were made at incident angles from 20 to 40 deg and at approximately 6-hour intervals throughout the 3-day period of the experiment. A backscatter minimum occurred early in the flower growth at the time coincident with an abrupt doubling in the ice surface salinity. Once the full flower coverage was achieved, we removed first the crystal flowers and then the slush layer from the ice surface. The results for these cases show that the crystals have little impact on the backscatter, while the underlying slush patches yield a backscatter increase of 3-5 dB over that of bare ice. The laboratory results suggest that this relative backscatter increase of approximately 5 dB can be used as an index to mark the full area coverage of frost flowers.

Nghiem, S. V.↗
NASA NTRS1997

A Laboratory Study of the Effect of Frost Flowers on C Band Radar Backscatter from Sea Ice

C band images of Arctic sea ice taken by the ERS 1 synthetic aperture radar show transitory regions of enhanced radar backscatter from young sea ice. Published field observations associate this increase with frost flower growth and the capture of blowing snow by the flowers. To investigate the first part of this phenomenon, we carried out a laboratory experiment on the response of C band radar backscatter to frost flowers growing on the surface of newly formed saline ice. The experiment took place in a 5 m by 7 m by 1.2 m deep saline water pool located in a two-story indoor refrigerated facility at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. Sodium chloride ice was grown in this pool at an air temperature of -28 C. The frost flowers first appeared on the ice surface as dendrites and then changed to needles as the ice sheet grew thicker and the surface temperatures became colder. The frost flowers reached to a height of 10-15 mm, and beneath each cluster of frost flowers a slush layer formed to a thickness of approximately 4 mm. Far-field radar measurements of the backscatter from the ice were made at incident angles from 20 C to 40 C and at approximately 6-hour intervals throughout the 3-day period of the experiment. A backscatter minimum occurred early in the flower growth at the time coincident with an abrupt doubling in the ice surface salinity. Once the full flower coverage was achieved, we removed first the crystal flowers and then the slush layer from the ice surface. The results for these cases show that the crystals have little impact on the backscatter, while the underlying slush patches yield a backscatter increase of 3-5 dB over that o f bare ice. The laboratory results suggest that this relative backscatter increase of approximately 5 dB can be used as an index to mark the full areal coverage of frost flowers.

Nghiem, S. V.↗
NASA NTRS1997

The Perennial Ice Cover of the Beaufort Sea from Active- and Passive-Microwave Observations

The perennial ice concentration in the Beaufort Sea was examined using active- and passive-microwave observations. We compared the ice type and concentration estimates from SSM/I and ERS-1 SAR data over a seasonal cycle from January 1992 to January 1993. It was found the multi-year (MY) ice-concentration estimates from the SAR data were very stable and were nearly equivalent to the ice concentration estimated at the end of the previous summer. We contrast this with the variability of the MY ice-concentration and ice-fraction estimates obtained using the NASA Team algorithm. The passive- and active-microwave algorithms provide total ice concentrations that are comparable during the winter, but the passive estimates are significantly lower during the summer. Passive-microwave estimates of multi-year-ice concentrations are consistently lower (up to 30%) than those from the SAR data. We discuss reasons for these discrepancies and the possible biases introduced by the active and passive algorithms.

Kwok, R.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Seasonal Characteristics of the Perennial Ice Cover of the Beaufort Sea

By definition, ice which survives the summer is classified as multiyear ice. Thus the area covered by multiyear ice during the winter should be nearly equivalent to the ice area during the previous summer's minima. This condition provides a reasonable criterion for the evaluation of ice concentration and ice type retrieval algorithms using remote-sensing data sets. From special sensor microwave imager (SSM/I) data the NASA Team algorithm estimates the multiyear, first-year, and total ice concentrations during the winter using combinations of the polarization and spectral gradient ratios. The Team algorithm provides only estimates of ice concentration in the summer. From ERS 1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data the remarkably stable contrast between multiyear ice and first-year ice in winter provides consistent estimates of multiyear ice concentrations. In the summer, multiyear ice concentration cannot be estimated from SAR or SSM/I data because free water on the surface effectively masks the backscatter and emissivity signature of this ice type. From SAR data a technique which takes advantage of the high backscatter of wind-roughened open water as a discrimination feature is used to estimate the total ice concentration in the summer. With a year-long (January 1992 to January 1993) data set from the Beaufort Sea we found that the multiyear ice concentration estimates from the SAR data are stable and are nearly equivalent to the ice concentration estimated at the end of the previous summer. We contrast this with the variability of the multiyear ice concentration and ice friction estimates obtained using SSM/I data. The Team algorithm produces ice concentration and multiyear ice estimates which are consistently lower than those from the SAR data. We discuss reasons for these discrepancies and the implications of the higher than previously noted multiyear ice concentrations.

Kwok, R.↗
NASA NTRS1996

(abstract) Three Dimensional Ice-Flow Velocity Estimation Using Satellite Radar Interferometry

An understanding of the flow dynamics of an ice sheet's outlet glaciers and ice streams requires knowledge of their flow velocity and strain rates (i.e., velocity gradients). Prior to the recent advent of satellite radar interferometry, it was not possible to measure detailed ice-flow velocity over the vast featureless areas that comprise most of the ice sheets. Since the launch of ERS-1, the use of satellite radar interferometry data for making densly sampled ice-flow velocity measurements has been firmly established by several studies. We have combined data from nonparallel orbits with surface slope information to make vector ice-flow measurements for the Ryder Glacier, Greenland. Our results for the Ryder are promising and indicate that repeat-pass interferometric data can be used to make vector measurements of ice velocity.

ice sheets radar interferometry glaciers flow dyna↗
NASA NTRS1996

(abstract) A Mini-Surge on the Ryder Glacier, Greenland

We have detected a dramatic short-term speedup of the Ryder Glacier, Greenland, using satellite radar interferometry. The accelerated flow represents a substantial, though short-lived, change in the ice discharge from the basin. We use the term.

Greenland Ice Sheet Glaciers Ryder Glacier radar i↗