Polarimetrie EMISAR observations of sea ice in the Greenland Sea

The fully polarimetrie EMISAR acquired C-band radar signatures of sea ice in the Greenland Sea during a campaign in March 1995. In addition aerial photography was taken almost simultaneously from another aircraft and was used to aid the sea ice classification. In this paper we focus on radar signatures observed for thin ice types. Different polarimetrie parameters are evaluated and their discrimination performance is assessed. The thin ice types can be separated well using the like-polarisation backscattering coefficient in combination with the phase difference between the W and HH-polarised signals.