• BGS Hosted Metadata
  •   Search
  •   Map
  •  Sign in

Processed airborne radio-echo sounding data from the POLARGAP survey covering the South Pole, and Foundation and Recovery Glaciers, East Antarctica (2015/2016)

During the austral summer of 2015/16, a major international collaboration funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and with in-kind contribution from the British Antarctic Survey, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) and the US National Science Foundation (NSF), acquired ~38,000 line km of aerogeophysical data. The primary objective of the POLARGAP campaign was to carry out an airborne gravity survey covering the southern polar gap of the ESA gravity field mission GOCE, beyond the coverage of the GOCE orbit (south of 83.5degS), however aeromagnetics and ice-penetrating radar data were also opportunistically acquired. This survey covers the South Pole and Recovery Lakes, as well as parts of the Support Force, Foundation and Recovery Glaciers.





Our Twin Otter aircraft was equipped with dual-frequency carrier-phase GPS for navigation, radar altimeter for surface mapping, wing-tip magnetometers, an air-sea gravity meter, and a new ice-sounding radar system (PASIN-2).





We present here the full radar dataset consisting of the deep-sounding chirp and shallow-sounding pulse-acquired data in their processed form, as well as the navigational information of each trace, the surface and bed elevation picks, ice thickness, and calculated absolute surface and bed elevations. This dataset comes primarily in the form of NetCDF and georeferenced SEGY files. To interactively engage with this newly-published dataset, we also created segmented quicklook PDF files of the radar data.





NOTE: Please note that an issue with the floats in the NetCDF variable "UTC_time_layerData" has resulted in this variable having rounded up decimal numbers. In order to fix this issue, we advise users who need this variable to download the separately published bed pick data for the POLARGAP survey (doi: https://doi.org/10.5285/d55e87dd-a74d-4182-be99-93ab805103ab) and use the 'DateTime_YYYY-MM-DD_HH:MM:SS.S' column which is the same as the one used to produce the NetCDF.

Simple

Date (Creation)
2021-08-31
Date (Revision)
2021-08-31
Date (Publication)
2021-08-31
Date (released)
2021-08-31
Edition

1.0

Unique resource identifier
https://doi.org/10.5285/e8a29fa7-a245-4a04-8b56-098defa134b9
Codespace

doi

Unique resource identifier
GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01552
Codespace

https://data.bas.ac.uk/

Other citation details

Please cite this item as: Ferraccioli, F., Forsberg, R., Matsuoka, K., Olesen, A., Jordan, T., Corr, H., Robinson, C., & Kohler, J. (2021). Processed airborne radio-echo sounding data from the POLARGAP survey covering the South Pole, and Foundation and Recovery Glaciers, East Antarctica (2015/2016) (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/e8a29fa7-a245-4a04-8b56-098defa134b9

Credit

No credit.

Status
Completed
Point of contact
Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role
British Antarctic Survey Ferraccioli, Fausto Author
Technical University of Denmark Forsberg, Rene Author
Norwegian Polar Institute Matsuoka, Kenichi Author
Technical University of Denmark Olesen, Arne Author
British Antarctic Survey Jordan, Tom Author
British Antarctic Survey

Corr, Hugh

Author
British Antarctic Survey

Robinson, Carl

Author
Norwegian Polar Institute Kohler, Jack Author
NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre

PDCServiceDesk@bas.ac.uk

Point of contact
Maintenance and update frequency
As needed
Maintenance note
Completed
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Cryosphere > Glaciers/Ice Sheets > Glacier Elevation/Ice Sheet Elevation
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Cryosphere > Glaciers/Ice Sheets > Glacier Thickness/Ice Sheet Thickness
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Cryosphere > Glaciers/Ice Sheets > Glacier Topography/Ice Sheet Topography
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Cryosphere > Glaciers/Ice Sheets
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Spectral/Engineering > Radar
Theme
  • Antarctic

  • aerogeophysics

  • ice thickness

  • radar

  • surface elevation

Place
  • Pensacola-Pole Basin, East Antarctica Antarctica

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

  • Elevation
Access constraints
Other restrictions
Other constraints
no limitations to public access
Access constraints
Other restrictions
Other constraints
no limitations
Use constraints
License
Other constraints
Open Government Licence v3.0
Use constraints
Other restrictions
Other constraints

This data is governed by the NERC Data Policy: https://www.ukri.org/who-we-are/nerc/our-policies-and-standards/nerc-data-policy/

Use constraints
Other restrictions
Other constraints

. Further by downloading this data the user acknowledges that they agree with the NERC data policy (), and the following conditions:





1. To cite the data in any publication as follows:





Ferraccioli, F., Forsberg, R., Matsuoka, K., Olesen, A., Jordan, T., Corr, H., Robinson, C., & Kohler, J. (2021). Processed airborne radio-echo sounding data from the POLARGAP survey covering the South Pole, and Foundation and Recovery Glaciers, East Antarctica (2015/2016) (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/E8A29FA7-A245-4A04-8B56-098DEFA134B9





2. The user recognizes the limitations of data. Use of the data is at the users' own risk, and there is no warranty as to the quality or accuracy of any data, or the fitness of the data for your intended use. The data are not necessarily fully quality assured and cannot be expected to be free from measurement uncertainty, systematic biases, or errors of interpretation or analysis, and may include inaccuracies in error margins quoted with the data.

Use constraints
Other restrictions
Other constraints

None

Unique resource identifier
doi
Codespace

doi

Association Type
Cross reference
Unique resource identifier
doi
Codespace

doi

Association Type
Cross reference
Unique resource identifier
doi
Codespace

doi

Association Type
Cross reference
Unique resource identifier
doi
Codespace

doi

Association Type
Cross reference
Unique resource identifier
doi
Codespace

doi

Association Type
Cross reference
Unique resource identifier
doi
Codespace

doi

Association Type
Cross reference
Unique resource identifier
url
Codespace

url

Association Type
Cross reference
Unique resource identifier
url
Codespace

url

Association Type
Larger work citation
Unique resource identifier
url
Codespace

url

Association Type
Larger work citation
Spatial representation type
Text, table
Language
English
Character set
UTF8
Topic category
  • Elevation
  • Geoscientific information
N
S
E
W
thumbnail




Begin date
2015-12-07
End date
2016-01-19
Supplemental Information

It is recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of any data, and that the author be contacted with any questions regarding appropriate use. If you find any errors or omissions, please report them to polardatacentre@bas.ac.uk.

Title

European Petroleum Survey Group (EPSG) Geodetic Parameter Registry

Date (Publication)
2008-11-12
Cited responsible party
Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role

European Petroleum Survey Group

EPSGadministrator@iogp.org

Publisher
Unique resource identifier
urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::3031
Version

6.18.3

Distributor

Distributor contact
Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role
NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre

PDCServiceDesk@bas.ac.uk

Distributor
Distributor format
Name Version
application/octet-stream
application/pdf
application/x-hdf
Units of distribution

bytes

Transfer size
215607358259
OnLine resource
Protocol Linkage Name

WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link

https://ramadda.data.bas.ac.uk/repository/entry/show?entryid=e8a29fa7-a245-4a04-8b56-098defa134b9

Get Data

Units of distribution

bytes

Transfer size
215607358259
OnLine resource
Protocol Linkage Name

WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link

https://ramadda.data.bas.ac.uk/repository/entry/show?entryid=e8a29fa7-a245-4a04-8b56-098defa134b9

Get Data

Units of distribution

bytes

Transfer size
215607358259
OnLine resource
Protocol Linkage Name

WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link

https://ramadda.data.bas.ac.uk/repository/entry/show?entryid=e8a29fa7-a245-4a04-8b56-098defa134b9

Get Data

Hierarchy level
Dataset
Statement

Methodology:

** Instrumentation and Processing:



Radar data were collected using the new bistatic PASIN-2 radar echo sounding system operating in full polarimetric mode and mounted on the BAS Twin Otter aircraft "VP-FBL" and operating with a centre frequency of 150 MHz and using a 4-microseconds, 12 MHz bandwidth linear chirp (deep sounding).





Chirp compression was applied using a Blackman window to minimise sidelobe levels, resulting in a processing gain of 10 dB. The chirp data was processed using a coherent averaging filter (commonly referred to as unfocused Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) processing) with Doppler beam sharpening to enhance the signal to clutter ratio of the bed echo and improve visualisation. The received chirp of 4 microseconds, 12 MHz bandwidth data was compressed, filtered, and decimated from the original trace acquisition rate of 156.25 Hz to 2Hz, equivalent to ~30m in along-track spacing. The chirp data is best suited to assess the bed and internals in deep ice conditions. The coherent pulse-data (0.1-microseconds) was processed using a coherent averaging filter. This data is best used to assess the internal structure and bed in shallow ice conditions. Note that the chirp and pulse products for this survey are not the same size (see below for more details).





The bed reflector was first automatically depicted on the chirp data using a semi-automatic picker in the PROMAX software package. All the picks were afterwards checked and corrected by hand if necessary. The picked travel time was then converted to depth using a radar wave speed of 168 m/microseconds and a constant firn correction of 10 m. Where possible, the ice surface location within the radargrams was calculated using lidar measurements of surface elevation. In areas where lidar data was not available (principally due to terrain clearance, cloud or where the lidar was not used), the location of the surface reflection was picked directly from the radargram and a regression, local to the data gap, was used to fit the radar range to terrain clearance. The origin of the elevation measurement can be found in the 'surface_source_layerData' variable in this NetCDF, and is composed of either: 0 = LIDAR, 1 = interpolated LIDAR, 2 = radar. Bed elevation was integrated with a high precision kinematic dual-frequency GPS position solution to provide the final point data set of ice thickness and bed elevation relative to WGS84.





Please note: An uncontrolled shutdown of the radar system at the end of flight line P22 resulted in damage to all connected amplifiers in the radar receiver. This issue was repaired in the field using spare amplifier channels and a reconfiguration of the radar system. As a result, there is no line P23 and another pulse was used to pick the ice surface after flight line P22. There is also no polarised data from flight P24 onwards.





For the polarised data (flights P03-P22), the file name convention for the chirp and pulse radar variables in the NetCDF relate to the orientation and set up of the antennae:



PPVV: Port to Port, Vertical to Vertical, 4us Chirp



SSHH: Starboard to Starboard, Horizontal to Horizontal, 4us Chirp



SPHV: Starboard to Port, Horizontal to Vertical, 1us Pulse





** Coordinates and Positions:



The coordinates provided in the NetCDF for the surface and bed elevation for each radar trace are in longitude and latitude (WGS84, EPSG: 4326). The navigation attributes for the radar data in the NetCDF are in projected X and Y coordinates (Polar Stereographic, EPSG: 3031), as follows:





Latitude of natural origin: -71



Longitude of natural origin: 0



Scale factor at natural origin: 0.994



False easting: 0



False northing: 2082760.109





The coordinates in the SEGY data are also in projected X and Y coordinates (Polar Stereographic, EPSG: 3031), although note that these are in integer format due to the SEGY limitations (see section belo...(140)

Data collection:

** Instrument:



Radar data were collected using the new bistatic PASIN-2 (Polarimetric radar Airborne Science Instrument) radar echo sounding system operating in full polarimetric mode and mounted on the BAS Twin Otter aircraft "VP-FBL" and operating with a centre frequency of 150 MHz and using a 4-microseconds, 12 MHz bandwidth linear chirp (deep sounding). The Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF) was 15,625 Hz (pulse repetition interval: 64 microseconds).





** Antenna configuration:



8 folded dipole elements:



4 transmitters (port side)



4 receivers (starboard side)



Antenna gain: 11 dBi (with 4 elements)



Transmit power: 1 kW into each 4 antennae



Maximum transmit duty cycle: 10% at full power (4 x 1 kW)





** Waveform details:



Four waveforms, 4uS Tukey port, 4uS Tukey starboard, 1uS Tukey port, 1uS Tukey starboard for flight P03 to P22.



Two waveforms for the other flights.





** Radar receiver configuration:



Receiver vertical sampling frequency: 22 MHz (resulting in sampling interval of 45.4546 ns)



Receiver coherent stacking: 25



Receiver digital filtering: -50 dBc at Nyquist (11 MHz)



Effective PRF: depends on the flight number: From flight P03 to P22: 156.25 Hz. The other flights have an effective PRF of 312.5 Hz (post-hardware stacking)



Sustained data rate: 10.56 Mbytes/second

Data quality:

- Trace spacing (post-processed data): ~30 m



- Vertical resolution: ~8.4 m



- Radar centre frequency: 150 MHz



- Radar bandwidth: 12 MHz



- Radar Receiver vertical sampling frequency: 22 MHz



- Absolute GPS positional accuracy: ~0.1 m (relative accuracy is one order of magnitude better). Banking angle was limited to 10 degrees during aircraft turns to avoid phase issues between GPS receiver and transmitter.





Crossover analysis of recovered bed elevation across the entire survey gives an error estimate for the PolarGAP survey of ~28 m.

Metadata

File identifier
e8a29fa7-a245-4a04-8b56-098defa134b9 XML
Metadata language
English
Character set
UTF8
Hierarchy level
Dataset
Hierarchy level name

dataset

Date stamp
2021-08-31
Metadata standard name

ISO 19115 Geographic Information - Metadata

Metadata standard version

ISO 19115:2003(E)

Metadata author
Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role
NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre

polardatacentre@bas.ac.uk

Point of contact
 
 

Overviews

Spatial extent

thumbnail

Keywords

Antarctic aerogeophysics ice thickness radar surface elevation
GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

Elevation
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords

EARTH SCIENCE > Cryosphere > Glaciers/Ice Sheets EARTH SCIENCE > Cryosphere > Glaciers/Ice Sheets > Glacier Elevation/Ice Sheet Elevation EARTH SCIENCE > Cryosphere > Glaciers/Ice Sheets > Glacier Thickness/Ice Sheet Thickness EARTH SCIENCE > Cryosphere > Glaciers/Ice Sheets > Glacier Topography/Ice Sheet Topography EARTH SCIENCE > Spectral/Engineering > Radar


Provided by

logo

Share on social sites

Access to the catalogue
Read here the full details and access to the data.




  •   About
  •   Github
  •