Radio scattering characteristics of Antarctic ice sheet using airborne radio echo sounding data

Some characteristics of radio wave scattering from ice sheet surfaces, inner volume and the bedrock surface are inferred from data obtained from 179 MHz airborne radio echo sounder data during the 27th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. A-scope data from sounder with wide antenna beams include information on the scattering characteristics at the ice sheet surface, within the ice sheet itself, and at the bedrock sub-surface. Characteristics are modeled from the A-scope form by using expanded radar equations which allow determination of the roughness of the ice sheet and bedrock surfaces. Results indicate a strong dependence of backscatter from the ice surface with incidence angle and a weak dependence in backscatter from the bedrock