RAMP AMM-1 SAR Image Mosaic of Antarctica

Data Contributors

JEZEK, KENNETH C.
CURLANDER, JOHN C.
CARSEY, FRANK
WALES, CARL
BARRY, R. G.

Parameters

GLACIERS
ICE SHEETS
LANDFORMS
RADAR BACKSCATTER
RADAR IMAGERY
RADAR REFLECTIVITY
SIGMA NAUGHT

Instruments

RADAR : RADIO DETECTION AND RANGING
SAR : SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR

In 1997, the Canadian RADARSAT-1 satellite was rotated in orbit, so that its synthetic aperture radar (SAR) antenna looked south towards Antarctica. This permitted the first high-resolution mapping of the entire continent of Antarctica. In eighteen days, the satellite acquired a complete coverage of radar image swaths as part of the first Antarctic Mapping Mission (AMM-1). Swath images have been assembled into an image mosaic depicting the entire continent at 25-m resolution. The mosaic provides a detailed look at ice sheet morphology, rock outcrops, research infrastructure, the coastline, and other features of Antarctica, as well as representing calibrated radar backscatter data which may provide insight into climate processes affecting the upper few meters of snow cover.

Data are available from both the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), and are offered in a variety of formats. A series of approximately 90 image tiles covers the entire continent at 25-m resolution, and single mosaic images derived from these tiles cover the continent at resolutions ranging from 125 m to 1 km. The single images provide good detail in convenient image formats. The tile products preserve the highest resolution of spatial detail, and retain the quantitative measure of backscatter intensity, but are necessarily large files that require assembly by the user.

Data Citation

Jezek, K., and RAMP Product Team. 2002. RAMP AMM-1 SAR image mosaic of Antarctica. Fairbanks, AK: Alaska SAR Facility, in association with the National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, CO. Digital media.