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A fixed full-matrix method for determining ice sheet height change from satellite altimeter: an ENVISAT case study in East Antarctica with backscatter analysis

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Abstract

A new method, called the fixed full-matrix method (FFM), is used to compute height changes at crossovers of satellite altimeter ground tracks. Using the ENVISAT data in East Antarctica, FFM results in crossovers of altimeter heights that are 1.9 and 79 times more than those from the fixed half method (FHM) and the one-row method (ORM). The mean standard error of height changes is about 14 cm from ORM, which is reduced to 7 cm by FHM and to 3 cm by FFM. Unlike FHM, FFM leads to uniform errors in the first-half and second-half height-change time series. FFM has the advantage in improving the accuracy of the change of height and backscattered power over ORM and FHM. Assisted by the ICESat-derived height changes, we determine the optimal threshold correlation coefficient (TCC) for a best correction for the backscatter effect on ENVISAT height changes. The TCC value of 0.92 yields an optimal result for FFM. With this value, FFM yields ENVISAT-derived height change rates in East Antarctica mostly falling between \(-3\) and 3 cm/year, and matching the ICESat result to 0.94 cm/year. The ENVISAT result will provide a constraint on the current mass balance result along the Chinese expedition route CHINARE.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the European Space Agency for providing the ENVISAT SGDR data through the AVISO CNES Data Center. This study is supported by the MOST (Grant No. 2013CBA01804), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41106163, No. 41128003 and No. 41076126), and SOA (Grant No. CHINARE 2013, 2014). We thank the three reviewers, who provide very constructive comments that greatly improve the quality of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chinese Antarctic Center of Surveying and Mapping, Wuhan University, 129 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, 430079, China

    Yuande Yang & Dongchen E

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 Ta Hsueh Road, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC

    Cheinway Hwang

  3. School of Geodesy and Geomatics, Wuhan University, 129 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, 430079, China

    Cheinway Hwang

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  1. Yuande Yang
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  2. Cheinway Hwang
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  3. Dongchen E
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Correspondence to Cheinway Hwang.

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Yang, Y., Hwang, C. & E, D. A fixed full-matrix method for determining ice sheet height change from satellite altimeter: an ENVISAT case study in East Antarctica with backscatter analysis. J Geod 88, 901–914 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-014-0730-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-014-0730-z

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