Melt in Antarctica derived from SMOS observations at L band
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by
Marion Leduc-Leballeur,
Ghislain Picard,
GIOVANNI MACELLONI,
arnaud mialon,
Yann Kerr
Abstract
<strong>Abstract.</strong> Melt occurrence in Antarctica is derived from L-band observations from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite between the austral summer 2010/11 and 2017/18. The detection algorithm is adapted from a threshold method previously developed for 19 GHz passive microwave measurements from Special Sensor Microwave Imagers (SSM/I, SSMIS). The comparison of daily melt occurrence retrieved from 1.4&amp;thinsp;GHz and 19&amp;thinsp;GHz observations shows an overall close agreement, but a lag of few days is usually observed by SMOS at the beginning of the melt season. To understand the difference, we performed a theoretical analysis using a microwave emission radiative transfer model that shows that the sensitivity of 1.4&amp;thinsp;GHz signal to liquid water is significantly weaker than at 19&amp;thinsp;GHz if the water is only present in the uppermost tens of centimeters of the snowpack. Conversely, 1.4&amp;thinsp;GHz measurements are sensitive to water when spread over at least 1&amp;thinsp;m and when present at depth, up to hundreds of meters. This is explained by the large penetration depth in dry snow and by the long wavelength (21&amp;thinsp;cm). We conclude that SMOS and higher frequency radiometers provide interesting complementary information on melt occurrence and on the location of the water in the snowpack.
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