Remote sensing

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The C2H team develops and improves tools for monitoring the physical properties of snow and ice by spatial remote sensing but also for the analysis of snow-glacial processes (spatio-temporal dynamics, hydrological balances).

The C2H team is particularly driving in the following developments :

• Observations of melting : We use radiometric measurements in the microwave domain to detect melting in Antarctica. These almost daily observations, available since 1979, allow us to study the summer climate of the Antarctic coasts.
• Measurement of the physical properties of snow : we use satellite measurements of SAR radar sensors at C-band (5 GHz) and X-band (9GHz) to restitute the components of height, density and retrieve the metamorphism of snow cover in high mountain areas and Arctic regions. In particular, the polarimetric decompositions of the signal allow to quantify these properties and to anlayse their temporal evolution.