AIRBORNE PROFILING OF ICE THICKNESS USING A SHORT PULSE RADAR

The acquisition and interpretation of ice thickness data from a mobile platform has for some time been a goal of the remote sensing community. Such data, once obtainable, is of value in monitoring the changes in ice thickness over large areas, and in mapping the potential hazards to traffic in shipping lanes. Measurements made from a helicopter-borne ice thickness profiler of ice in Lake Superior, Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair river as part of NASA's program to develop an ice information system are described. The profiler described is a high resolution, non-imaging, short pulse radar, operating at a carrier frequency of 2.7 GHz. The system can resolve reflective surfaces separated by as little as 10 cm. and permits measurement of the distance between resolvable surfaces with an accuracy of about 1 cm. Data samples are given for measurements both in a static (helicopter hovering), and a traverse mode. Ground truth measurements taken by an ice auger team traveling with the helicopter are compared with the remotely sensed data and the accuracy of the profiler is discussed based on these measurements. (Author)

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Conf-Presented at the Interdisciplinary Symposium on Advanced Concepts and Techniques in the Study of Snow and Ice Resources, Monterery, Calif., 2-6 Dec. 1973.
• Corporate Authors:

  Lewis Research Center

  National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  Cleveland, OH  United States  44135
• Authors:
  • Vickers, R S
  • Heighway, J
  • Gedney, R
• Publication Date: 1973

Media Info

• Pagination: 7 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Ice; Mapping; Remote sensing; Thickness
• Old TRIS Terms: Ice mapping; Ice profiles; Ice thickness
• Subject Areas: Design; Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00053929
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: NASA-TM-X-71481
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 7 1974 12:00AM