DEM extraction of the basal topography of the Canadian archipelago ICE caps via 2D automated layer-tracker

The basal topography of most of the glaciers that drain the ice caps of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago is largely unknown. To measure the basal topography, NASA Operation IceBridge flew a radar depth sounder in a wide swath mode with three transmit beams to image the glacier beds during three flights over the archipelago in 2014. We describe the measurement setup of the radar system, the algorithms used to process the data to produce a 3D image of the glacier bed, show digital elevation model (DEM) results of the beds, and provide a basic assessment of the tracking algorithm used to extract the DEM.