LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS OF SEA-ICE - CONNECTIONS TO MICROWAVE REMOTE-SENSING

The connections between laboratory measurements and remote-sensing obs ervations of sea ice are explored. The focus of this paper is on thin ice, which is more easily simulated in a laboratory environment. We su mmarize results of C-band scatterometer measurements and discuss how t hey may help in the interpretation of remote-sensing data. We compare the measurements with observations of thin ice from ERS and airborne r adar data sets. We suggest that laboratory backscatter signatures shou ld serve as bounds on the interpretation of remote-sensing data. We ex amine these bounds from the perspective of thin ice signatures, the ef fect of temperature, and surface processes, such as frost flowers and slush on these signatures. Controlled experiments also suggest new dir ections in remote-sensing measurements. The potential of polarimetric radar measurements in the retrieval of thickness of thin ice is discus sed. In addition to the radar results, we discuss the importance of lo w-frequency passive measurements with respect to the thickness of thin ice.