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We present the design and field test results for a 600 to 900 MHz polarimetric ice penetrating radar that can be operated on the ground or from an airborne platform. This system is part of a development to build a dual band (VHF/UHF) polarimetric ice sounding radar suite. The VHF radar operates over 140-215 MHz and is essentially a modified version of the multi-channel 3D imaging system reported in [1]. The UHF radar, the focus of this work, is an adaptation of the CReSIS Accumulation Radar, which operates from 600 to 900 MHz [2]. The radar system uses a custom-designed, dual-polarized 4x4 antenna array with increased peak and average transmit power levels, which together provide additional sensitivity with respect to prior system renditions. The UHF radar incorporates a new receiver [3] that uses controlled analog compression via RF limiters to increase the instantaneous dynamic range. We designed the instrument setup to be towed by snowmobiles and operated at nominal speeds of 4 to 8 m/s. The relatively slow motion helps improve SNR through an increase in coherent averaging due to the longer dwell time. Although the focus of the field test is on ground-based work, the electronics are designed to also support airborne operation.
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Paths forward in radioglaciology
Abstract Ice-penetrating radar sounding is a powerful geophysical tool for studying terrestrial and planetary ice with a rich glaciological heritage reaching back over half a century. Recent years have also seen rapid growth in both the radioglaciological community itself and in the scope and sophistication of its analysis of ice-penetrating radar data. This has been spurred by a combination of growing datasets and improvements in computational resources as well as advances in radar sounding instrumentation and platforms. Together, these developments are transforming the field and highlight exciting paths forward for future innovation and investigation.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1745137
- PAR ID:
- 10404713
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Annals of Glaciology
- ISSN:
- 0260-3055
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 5
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2023.3
