A Computer Simulation for the Analysis of Radar Echo-Sounding of Polar Ice Sheets

Abstract

The goal of the work presented here is to model the timedomain reflected radar returns from polar ice sheets so that greater information can be gained from those returns. The results obtained by modeling the ice sheets as lossless and multilayered media are shown to be consistent with the measured results. They also provide insights into the mechanisms affecting the radar returns. In particular, the simulations suggest that the internal reflections in the polar ice sheet are due more to the variation in layer-to-layer permittivity rather than the conductivity. In addition, the best qualitative agreement between the simulations and the observed data were observed when the permittivity variations in each layer were varied randomly about the mean dielectric constant of the ice sheet.