2014/10/27 by S. W. Barwick, Barwick, S. W., E.C. Berg +22 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Cryospheric studies and observations #FOS: Physical sciences #Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) #Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1410.7134
openalex publication_date 2014/10/27 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Radio-glaciological parameters from Moore's Bay, in the Ross Ice Shelf, have been measured. The thickness of the ice shelf in Moore's Bay was measured from reflection times of radio-frequency pulses propagating vertically through the shelf and reflecting from the ocean, and is found to be 576±8 m. Introducing a baseline of 543±7 m between radio transmitter and receiver allowed the computation of the basal reflection coefficient, R, separately from englacial loss. The depth-averaged attenuation length of the ice column, is shown to depend linearly on frequency. The best fit (95% confidence level) is = (460±20)-(180±40)ν m (20 dB/km), for the frequencies ν=[0.100-0.850] GHz, assuming no reflection loss. The mean electric-field reflection coefficient is √(R)=0.82±0.07 (-1.7 dB reflection loss) across [0.100-0.850] GHz, and is used to correct the attenuation length. Finally, the reflected power rotated into the orthogonal antenna polarization is less than 5% below 0.400 GHz, compatible with air propagation. The results imply that Moore's Bay serves as an appropriate medium for the ARIANNA high energy neutrino detector.