极地冰雪探测冰雷达技术发展回顾与展望

Review and prospect of ice radar technology for polar ice and snow detection

冰雷达是用于极地冰雪探测的主要技术手段,为研究极地冰雪的几何特征、内部结构、冰下地形地貌和冰底环境提供了重要的基础观测数据。20世纪50年代,人类首次发现特定频段的电磁波可以“穿透”南极冰盖,进而在60年代研制出用于极地冰盖冰下探测的冰雷达系统。之后60多年里,随着计算机、电子信息和卫星定位导航等技术的发展,冰雷达技术研究取得快速发展,形成了适用于极地冰盖、海冰及其上覆积雪不同探测需求的多样化冰雷达系统。本文在简要回顾了早期冰雷达技术发展的基础上,着重从极地冰盖深部探测、极地冰盖和海冰浅表层探测以及新型极地冰雪探测冰雷达技术3个方面,回顾总结了近10年来国内外主要进展。未来,为适应极地冰盖、海冰及其上覆积雪观测研究的多种需求,需要进一步提升冰雷达系统性能(探测深度、跨轨迹向分辨率、垂向分辨率等),并且研制满足新型平台(无人机、卫星等)搭载需求的小型、低功耗冰雷达系统,以及发展多通道、多频、多极化集同观测模式的综合冰雷达技术。

Ice radar is the main technical means for detecting polar ice and snow.It provides important basic observational data for studying the geometric characteristics,internal structure,subglacial topography and environment of polar ice and snow.In the 1950s,humans first discovered that electromagnetic waves in specific frequency bands could“penetrate”the Antarctic ice sheet,and in the 1960s developed an ice radar system for the detection of polar ice sheets under ice.Over the past 60 years,with the development of computers,electronic information,and satellite positioning and navigation technology,the research on ice radar technology has achieved rapidly developed,resulting in a diversified ice radar system suitable for the different detection requirements of polar ice sheet,sea ice and snow cover.Based on a brief review of the development of early ice radar technology,this paper reviews and summarizes the main progress over the past 10 years,in China and abroad,in three aspects:deep detection of polar ice sheets,shallow detection of polar ice sheets and sea ice,and new polar ice and snow detection ice radar technology.To meet needs for future research on the observation of polar ice sheets,sea ice,and snow cover,it will be necessary to further improve the performance of ice radar systems(including detection depth,cross-track resolution,and vertical resolution),develop small,low-power ice radar systems that meet the needs of new platforms(such as drones and satellites),and develop multi-channel,multi-frequency,multi-polarization integrated ice radar technology.