Characterization of L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) backscatter from floating and grounded lake ice in arctic Alaska

Abstract. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) backscatter from floating lake ice is high, in contrast to low backscatter values from lake ice that is frozen completely to the lake bed (grounded ice). Knowledge of floating vs. grounded lake ice is useful for determining winter water supply, fish habitat, heat transfer to permafrost, and to observe changes in perennial lake ice status that could correlate with variations in local climate. Here, we compare calibrated L-band (23.6 cm wavelength) single- and L-band quadrature-polarized SAR return to the backscatter intensity of C-band (5.6 cm wavelength) SAR from floating and grounded lake ice over two regions in Alaska. Our primary goal was to determine if C or L-band is more useful to distinguish floating from grounded lake ice. C-band SAR showed far greater contrast between floating and grounded lake ice, making it the preferred wavelength for identifying lake ice regimes. L-band SAR backscatter was much lower from floating ice than C-band and it was different for our two study regions. Furthermore, since L-band is sensitive to ebullition bubbles trapped by lake ice (bubbles increase backscatter), this study helps to elucidate potential confounding factors of bubbles in efforts to detect floating vs. grounded ice using L-band SAR.