Cryosphere Studies

Snow cover is dynamic in nature and melts based on local temperature variations in different time periods. Satellite sensors can provide synoptic coverage at frequent intervals which facilitates mapping, monitoring of dynamics of snow cover.

A methodology to detect and monitor snow melt and freeze from microwave scatterometer data (OSCAT) onboard OCEANSAT2 and QuikSCAT data is developed.

Spatio-temporal dynamics of surface melting over Antarctica is of importance in understanding the response of ice shelves to climate change. Normalised radar backscatter is sensitive to the water content of snow.