Study of the relationship between the scale of sea ice deformation and radar backscatter intensity using ERS-1 SAR

Knowledge of the relationship between the backscatter response and physical properties of deformed sea ice is important in documenting the information which may be retrieved using synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Investigations have been conducted in the use of SAR to assess the state of deformation of Arctic sea ice and the robustness of the inversion of the SAR signatures to estimates of deformation state, ice thickness, and ridge height. This paper presents relevant issues and illustrates SAR signatures for a variety of deformed ice cases.