TOWARDS THE RETRIEVAL OF LAKE ICE THICKNESS FROM SATELLITE ALTIMETRY MISSIONS (LIAM)
Summary
Lake ice thickness has been identified as an Essential Climate Variable (ECV) by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). However, ground-based measurements of lake ice thickness are sparse in both space and time, and the number of sites where such measurements are made has dramatically decreased over the last two to three decades in many northern countries. In light of this and in support of GCOS, there is an urgent need to develop ice thickness products from satellite observations. Altimetry missions could play an important role in this respect, allowing for systematic measurements of ice thickness for many lakes of the globe.
The goal of this study is to pave the way for robust retrievals of lake ice thickness from satellite altimetry missions, supported by a thermodynamics lake ice model and Snow Microwave Radiative Transfer (SMRT) model. SMRT has recently been revised to include lake ice. Known under the acronym of LIAM (Lake Ice from Altimetry Missions), the project is investigating the sensitivity of radar backscatter and brightness temperature data collected by satellite altimetry missions to lake ice and on-ice snow properties.
Project team
H2O Geomatics Inc.
(Prime), Canada
Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement (IGE), Université Grenoble Alpes, France
Ocean Next,
France
Presentations and publications
Zakharova, E., S. Agafonova, C. Duguay C., N. Frolova, and A. Kouraev. River ice phenology and thickness from satellite altimetry. Potential for climate studies and ice bridge road operation. The Cryosphere Discussions, doi: 10.5194/tc-2020-325. Accepted for publication in The Cryosphere (1 November 2021).
Picard, G., F. Larue, J. Aublanc, P. Thibaut, M. Sandells, H. Löwe, J. Murfitt, and C. Duguay, 2021. The new altimetric module in Snow Microwave Radiative Transfer Model for snow (SMRT). CryoSat 10th Anniversary Science Conference, 14-17 June.
Duguay, C.R., G. Picard, E.A. Zakharova, J. Murfitt, M. Restano, and J. Benveniste, 2021. Investigating the impact of ice and snow properties on the estimation of lake ice thickness from altimetry missions. HYDROSPACE-GEOGloWS 2021 - Inland Water Storage and Runoff: Modeling, In Situ Data and Remote Sensing, 7-11 June.
Duguay, C.R., J. Hagerman, J. Murfitt, G. Picard, and E.A. Zakharova, 2021. Passive microwave retrieval of lake ice cover and thickness: advances and opportunities. From Science to Operations for Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) Mission, 10-12 May.
Picard, G., F. Larue, J. Aublanc, P. Thibaut, M. Sandells, H. Löwe, J. Murfitt, C. Duguay, 2021. The new altimetric module in Snow Microwave Transfer Model for snow (SMRT). DUAL-CRYO - Workshop on Dual-Band Altimetry of the Cryosphere, 13-14 January.
Duguay, C.R., G. Picard, E.A. Zakharova, J. Murfitt, M. Restano, and J. Benveniste, 2020. Sensitivity of backscatter and brightness temperature measurements from satellite radar altimetry missions to lake ice thickness. AGU 2020 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California, 1-17 December.
