Abstract:
We have examined the characteristics of the GPS signal reflected off the sea ice surface and collected by an airborne or spaceborne receiver, forming a bistatic radar. The constellation of existing transmitters allows gathering bistatic reflections off the sea ice surface at different incidence angles over the course of a day, in contrast to a traditional radar that measures backscattering. We expect to see a strong coherent signal which is much higher than the incoherent one because of forward reflections from very smooth (particularly at L-band) and highly saline first year ice.