FREEZE/THAW DETECTION IN PERMAFROST REGION WITH C-BAND SCATTEROMETERS

摘要

Distribution of permafrost is largely controlled by climatic conditions. Current permafrost monitoring methods are based on in-situ measurements and modeling and they are mostly local measurements which offer only limited insight in the impacts of global climate variations on the regional to global scale. Permafrost is a subsurface phenomenon which cannot be directly measured with remotely sensed data. But the spatial distribution, thickness and temperature of permafrost is highly dependent on the condition of the active layer overlaying the permafrost. Satellite data can be utilized for operational monitoring of the permafrost active layer by means of a number of indicators and parameters, which are highly valuable for permafrost modeling and monitoring. In this study we present the usage of backscatter measurements from ASCAT scatterometer onboard Metop for detection of freeze/thaw conditions in high latitudes and validate the results with synoptic meteorological measurements. It is shown that there is a high correlation between frozen/unfrozen flag extracted from ASCAT data and the in-situ air temperature measurements.