Brief communication: A continuous formulation of microwave scattering from fresh snow to bubbly ice from first principles

Abstract

Abstract. Microwave remote sensing of the cryosphere demands a formulation of the scattering coefficient which can be applied over the entire range of relevant densities, from fresh snow to bubbly ice, at all frequencies and for any grain size and snow type. Most challenging are intermediate densities (450–550 kg m−3) and high frequencies (or coarse-grained snow) where current scattering formulations break down. In this brief communication we demonstrate that the strong contrast expansion method recently developed for heterogeneous, dielectric media can be applied to microwave scattering in snow, firn and ice to solve these problems.