Grounded icebergs

The high backscatter targets with backscatter values of -2.3 dB to +0.9 dB describe grounded icebergs. ERS-1 SAR images of the same area from October 1991 show that the location and sizes of the icebergs almost have not varied between October 1991 and July 1992 (click here to see the location of the SAR image).
Tracks in the lee (north) of the icebergs can clearly be seen in this enlargement .
The mechanism which causes the bands of high backscatter values north of the icebergs is opposite of that of an iceberg drifting through a closed ice cover: because of the different velocity of the iceberg (stationary) and the surrounding sea ice cover the icebergs create a track of open water/brash ice. The icebergs act as a barrier.

NERSC, Bergen, Norway

Keywords: ESA European Space Agency - Agence spatiale europeenne, observation de la terre, earth observation, satellite remote sensing, teledetection, geophysique, altimetrie, radar, chimique atmospherique, geophysics, altimetry, radar, atmospheric chemistry