Abstract:

The backscattering characteristic of firn layer in Antarctica has tight relevance to liquid water content. The increasing of liquid water content caused by melting will reduce the backscattering greatly. Using the Ku band scatterometer data from SAAS(1978) and NSCAT(1996) for differential analysis, the regions showing remarkable fluctuations are given. Focusing on Ellsworth Land, the historic weather record is combined for analysis. It is concluded that the reduction of backscattering is partly out of the increasing temperature or melting.