Sea ice thickness retrieval at L-band: Comparison between results from Aquarius and SMAP data

Aquarius and SMAP brightness temperature data are used to estimate sea ice thickness in the polar regions. The method is based on the inversion of a radiative transfer model for ice-covered sea. This model predicts the emission from ice-covered sea and is similar to the one used by the SMOS group. The sea ice thickness values retrieved from Aquarius and SMAP measurements using this technique are compared with the SMOS data. Since Aquarius ceased operation due to component failure on at the beginning of June 2015, while the SMAP radiometer began operating at the end of March 2015, data from April 2015 are used in the comparison. Results obtained using Aquarius and SMAP data are consistent with each other, but show a high uncertainty compared to the SMOS sea ice thickness product.