Comparison of the passive microwave spectral signature of the Antarctic ice sheet with ground traverse data

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Abstract
Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) data are compared with the snow characteristics measured during several traverses over Antarctica including average density over 0–2 m, 10 m temperature, grain-size distributions and number of strata. First a local study of specified areas and then a global study show some strong dependence between satellite data and ground data. The polarization ratios are affected by the stratification of snow (number and nature of layers); large polarization ratios correspond to strong stratification, mainly for the lower frequencies. Because low density induces strong stratification there is also a dependence between polarization ratios and density even if the density is not the critical factor. The gradient ratios are linked to the grain-sizes as determined from detailed stratigraphies; the larger the grain-size, the smaller is the gradient ratio between 6.6 and 18 GHz.

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