Call number:
ZSP-201-94/12
In:
CRREL Report, 94-12
Description / Table of Contents:
Subsurface radar was used to profile ice and snow conditions on the Ross Ice Shelf at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, during mid-January 1993. Deconvolution and migration were often used to improve vertical resolution and spatial imaging. Profiles at a pulse center frequency of 400 MHz along the 3.2-km-long Pegasus ice runway show many low-density horizons above 9 m depth that are up to 30 m long. They are associated with air bubbles included during refreezing of meltwater and are interpreted as layers between a few and tens of centimeters thick. There is a strong reflecting horizon at about 9 m depth that is probably from brine intrusion as it is continuous with the intrusion into the snow to the east. Diffraction asymptotes give a dielectric constant near 3.2 for material above the brine level, a value that implies near-solid ice. Profiles at 100 MHz along the road between Pegasus runway and Williams Field in the accumulation zone show snow features such as layer deformation and intrusive brine layers that both abruptly and gradually change in depth. A single profile at a relic solid waste dump at Williams Field detected buried debris and ice within the upper 7 m. A survey of a suspected fuel spill shows some local disturbances near the center, but no excavation was done to verify the findings. Profiles traversing the sewage sumps at Williams Field outline the extent of the sewage deposition, and give depths to contaminated snow that closely agree with observation. Despite variability in dielectric properties, single-layer migration effectively improves the resolution of subsurface conditions. Recommendations are made for future surveys.
Type of Medium:
Series available for loan
Pages:
iv, 29 Seiten
,
Illustrationen
Series Statement:
CRREL Report 94-12
URL:
https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a289323.pdf
URL:
https://hdl.handle.net/11681/9377
Language:
English
Note:
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
Radar equipment
General operation
Antennas
Waveforms and phase polarity
Antenna directivity
Field procedures and data processing
Field procedures
Data recording
Data processing
Site location
Results
Pegasus runway
Access road from Williams Field to Pegasus runway
Williams Field
Summary and conclusions
Literature cited
Appendix A: Airborne profile of a portion of the access road
Abstract
Location:
AWI Archive
Branch Library:
AWI Library
Permalink
