SAR processing of radar echo sounder data

In 1991, NASA initiated a research program for testing airborne laser and radar altimeters for measuring surface elevation of the Greenland ice sheet in conjunction with a coordinated set of surface measurements for validating and interpreting satellite data sets. In 1993, the airborne program was expanded to include the University of Kansas airborne radio echo sounder for acquiring ice thickness along with laser elevation measurements. The authors have collected a large volume of data with their radio echo sounder and supplied these data to the glaciological community worldwide, and they improved the digital system for collecting coherent data for further processing. They developed a SAR processing algorithm based on the f-k migration technique and used this algorithm to process a subset of data collected over the 2000-m contour line and several outlet glaciers. The results show a 4-10 dB improvement in signal-to-noise ratio and improved along-track resolution. The authors provide a brief description of the algorithm and results of the processing over selected areas.