Limits on Antarctic Ice Sheet Temperature Estimation using 0.5-2 GHz Ultra-Wideband Radiometry

Vertical ice sheet temperature profiles are affected by processes such as snow accumulation rates, geothermal effects, the properties of the ground over which the ice column is sitting. These internal ice sheet temperatures and their variations both with depth and location are crucial in understanding ice sheet evolution. The temperature profile in depth plays an important role in influencing stress-strain relationships in the ice sheet volume, and therefore impacts ice sheet dynamics including deformation and flow across the ice sheet base. There are currently no instruments for remote sensing the entire vertical ice sheet temperature profile. Most current information about the depth and spatial variation in ice sheet temperatures comes from borehole measurements [1].