What are the impacts of rainfall on sea ice ?
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Rainfall on sea ice, known as rain-on-snow (ROS), can have significant impacts on sea ice variables retrieved from satellite observations. ROS events deposit liquid water onto existing snowpacks, which can form icy crusts upon refreezing. This alters radar backscatter and microwave emissivity, affecting the accuracy of satellite radar altimetry, scatterometers, and passive microwave radiometers . During ROS events, there is a decrease in radar energy returned at Ku- and Ka-bands, followed by an increase after refreezing . The waveform shape also changes in response to rain and refreezing . Microwave emissivity increases with liquid water content and decreases as the snowpack refreezes, with subsequent ice layers altering the polarization difference . These impacts can affect satellite returns and the accuracy of sea ice variables derived from satellite observations .
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| Papers (5) | Insight |
|---|---|
| The impacts of rainfall on sea ice include altering radar backscatter and microwave emissivity, which can affect the accuracy of satellite radar altimetry, scatterometers, and passive microwave radiometers in retrieving sea ice variables. | |
| The impacts of rainfall on sea ice include triggering and accelerating snow and ice melting, reducing albedo, and releasing latent heat. The timing of rainfall onset is also found to be an important predictor of sea ice extent. | |
| The paper provides the first detailed in situ analysis of the impacts of rain-on-snow (ROS) and subsequent refreezing on both active and passive microwave observations over sea ice. | |
| The impacts of rainfall on sea ice include altering radar backscatter and microwave emissivity, which can affect the accuracy of sea ice variables retrieved from satellite radar altimetry, scatterometers, and passive microwave radiometers. | |
| The impacts of rainfall on sea ice include altering radar backscatter and microwave emissivity, changing waveform shape, and potentially affecting the accuracy of satellite-derived sea ice variables. |
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