Passive Microwave Signatures of Simulated Pancake Ice and Young Pressure Ridges

Abstract This paper describes surface based passive microwave observations of simulated pancake ice and of a first year pressure ridge. The observed emissivity spectra are quite similar to those observed on several field experiments in the polar regions. Certain spectral features such as a maximum emissivity at 37 GHz for pancake ice and a polarization ratio very close to zero for ridged ice are distinct from those of new, young, and first‐year ice. They suggest possible signatures which may help to characterize these ice types using passive microwave techniques.