Surface-Based Multi-Channel Radar Systems for Ice Sheet Measurements

Two surface-based multi-channel radar systems, operating in the VHF and UHF bands, were designed, developed and deployed to the East Greenland Ice-coring Project (EGRIP) site in Summer 2018 for ice sheet sounding and imaging. Both radar systems, sharing the same digital waveform generator and digitizer, were installed and operated inside a tracked vehicle. The VHF system operates over the frequency range of 170-230 MHz with a peak transmit power of 600 W. The radar is equipped with an 8-m long monopole array. The UHF system operates from 600 to 900 MHz with a peak transmit power of 800 W, and is equipped with a large and lightweight 16 m × 17 m antenna array arranged in a Mill's Cross configuration. In this paper, we will present the design of the two radar systems and the radar data collected from EGRIP.