Scale-dependent roughness of a glacier surface: implications for radar backscatter and aerodynamic roughness modelling

The roughness of the snow-free surface of the glacier midre Lovénbreen, Svalbard, has been investigated on scales between 1 mm and 300 m. It is shown that the roughness is reasonably well described by scale-free (fractal) models for scales longer than a few metres and shorter than about 100 mm. Howe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of glaciology Vol. 52; no. 177; pp. 214 - 222
Main Authors Rees, W.G., Arnold, N.S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 2006
International Glaciological Society
Subjects
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Geophysics. Techniques, methods, instrumentation and models
Svalbard
Arctic region
Norway, Svalbard
glaciers
glaciology
Roughness length
Scale effect
Ground based measurement
topography
Rough surface
backscattering
Radar remote sensing
Aircraft observation
Lidar
polar regions
Observation data
Aerodynamic characteristic
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Summary:The roughness of the snow-free surface of the glacier midre Lovénbreen, Svalbard, has been investigated on scales between 1 mm and 300 m. It is shown that the roughness is reasonably well described by scale-free (fractal) models for scales longer than a few metres and shorter than about 100 mm. However, there is a break in the behaviour between these scales which can be characterized by a definite scale length of 70–500 mm and a root-mean-square height variation between around 6 and 70 mm. The aerodynamic roughness length contributed by these features is estimated to be 0.3–1.5 mm. Features on this scale are consistent with the observed microwave backscattering properties of the glacier.
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ISSN:0022-1430
1727-5652
DOI:10.3189/172756506781828665