POLARIMETRIC SIGNATURES OF SEA-ICE .2. EXPERIMENTAL-OBSERVATIONS

Experimental observations of polarimetric signatures are presented for sea ice in the Beaufort Sea under cold winter conditions and interpre ted with the composite model developed in Part 1. Polarimetric data we re acquired in March 1988 with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory multifreq uency airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) during the Beaufort Sea Flight Campaign. The experimental area was located near 75 degrees N l atitude and spanned 140 degrees-145 degrees W longitude. Selected sea ice scenes contain various ice types, including multiyear, thick first -year, and thin lead ice. Additionally, the C band SAR on the first Eu ropean Remote Sensing Satellite provides supplementary backscattering data of winter Beaufort Sea ice for small incident angles (20 degrees- 26 degrees) at vertical polarization. Sea ice characterization and env ironmental data used in the model were collected at the Applied Physic s Laboratory drifting ice station to the northeast of Prudhoe Bay; add itional data from field and laboratory experiments are also utilized i n this analysis. The model relates sea ice polarimetric backscattering signatures to physical, structural, and electromagnetic properties of sea ice. Scattering mechanisms contributing to sea ice signatures are explained, and sensitivities of polarimetric signatures to sea ice ch aracterization parameters are studied.