Miller, Heinrich; Helm, Veit; Steinhage, Daniel; Franke, Steven; Binder, Tobias (2026): ARK 2016: AWI airborne ultra-wideband radar data in Central-west and South-west Greenland (UWB Testflights) [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.988312
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Published: 2026-01-06 • DOI registered: 2026-01-06
Abstract:
This dataset contains airborne radar data acquired using the AWIs multi-channel ultra-wideband radar system (AWI UWB) during the Arctic season of 2016. The profiles extend across the Central-west and South-west Greenland Ice Sheet over e.g., Store Glacier and Jakobshavn Isbræ and were part of the first test season of the AWI UWB radar system. The data are available as netCDF files (including waveforms and metadata), KML files of the profile line locations, and quicklook images of the radargrams.
Related to:
Eisen, Olaf; Steinhage, Daniel; Franke, Steven; Helm, Veit; Binder, Tobias; Drews, Reinhard; Eagles, Graeme; Humbert, Angelika; Jansen, Daniela; Jokat, Wilfried; Lambrecht, Astrid; Mieth, Matthias; Riedel, Sven; Miller, Heinrich (2024): Collection of datasets from AWI's radio-echo sounding systems on ice sheets and glaciers [dataset bibliography]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.972094
Franke, Steven; Steinhage, Daniel; Helm, Veit; Binder, Tobias; Nixdorf, Uwe; Miller, Heinrich; Humbert, Angelika; Jansen, Daniela; Eagles, Graeme; Eisermann, Hannes; Jokat, Wilfried; Ruppel, Antonia; Drews, Reinhard; Zuhr, Alexandra; Driemel, Amelie; Walter, Andreas; Konopatzky, Peter; Heß, Robin; Haas, Antonie; Koppe, Roland; Andreas, Pascal H; Eisen, Olaf (2026): Review article: 30 years of airborne radar surveys on the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets by the Alfred Wegener Institute. The Cryosphere, 20(4), 2485-2530, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-2485-2026
Additional metadata:
O2A Registry: Metadata for radar system Ultra-wideband ice radar at current Version. Alfred Wegener Institut Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, https://registry.o2a-data.de/items/6809
Funding:
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (AWI), grant/award no. AWI_PA_02078: P6-201_UWB_2016
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 67.731590 * Median Longitude: -50.464113 * South-bound Latitude: 66.835010 * West-bound Longitude: -52.694882 * North-bound Latitude: 70.732558 * East-bound Longitude: -47.115316
Date/Time Start: 2016-04-13T16:59:05 * Date/Time End: 2016-04-26T15:48:29
Event(s):
UWB_2016_1604130501 * Latitude Start: 66.856746 * Longitude Start: -49.972470 * Latitude End: 66.835010 * Longitude End: -49.478985 * Date/Time Start: 2016-04-13T16:59:05 * Date/Time End: 2016-04-13T18:56:56 * Campaign: P6-201_UWB_2016 (UWB_2016) * Basis: POLAR 6 * Method/Device: Aircraft (AC)
UWB_2016_1604180601 * Latitude Start: 67.011801 * Longitude Start: -50.696204 * Latitude End: 67.011751 * Longitude End: -50.696114 * Date/Time Start: 2016-04-18T10:59:10 * Date/Time End: 2016-04-18T14:52:07 * Campaign: P6-201_UWB_2016 (UWB_2016) * Basis: POLAR 6 * Method/Device: Aircraft (AC)
UWB_2016_1604180702 * Latitude Start: 67.011763 * Longitude Start: -50.696137 * Latitude End: 67.011583 * Longitude End: -50.698955 * Date/Time Start: 2016-04-18T15:58:11 * Date/Time End: 2016-04-18T18:54:10 * Campaign: P6-201_UWB_2016 (UWB_2016) * Basis: POLAR 6 * Method/Device: Aircraft (AC)
Comment:
Project: UWB Testflights
Region: Central-west and South-west Greenland ice sheet
Owner / PI: Heinrich Miller (heinrich.miller@awi.de)
Email address of the provider:
olaf.eisen@awi.de
daniela.jansen@awi.de
veit.helm@awi.de
Instrument used: AWI UWB (MCoRDS 5)
Data products: CSARP_standard (SAR focussed), CSARP_qlook (unfocussed)
Data product documentation: https://data.cresis.ku.edu/data/rds/rds_readme.pdf
Method of navigation : GPS data was acquired by four NovAtel DL-V3 GPS receivers operating at 20Hz
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The netCDF files contain the following variables:
altitude: Platform altitude (WGS84) in meters
bed_elevation: Bed elevation for each trace (without applying a firn correction and permitivity of ice: 3.15) in meters
bed_pick: picked Bed location for each trace, expressed as twt in seconds from time zero
data: Radar data (Values in dBm after DC conversion)
data_agc: Scaled radar data using automatic gain control (AGC)
distance: Along-track distance in meters
ice_thickness: Ice thickness for each trace (without applying a firn correction and permitivity of ice: 3.15) in meters
lat: Latitude in decimal degrees (WGS84)
lon: Longitude in decimal degrees (WGS84)
range: Range between sensor and surface in meters
spacing: Along-track trace to trace spacing in meters
surface: Surface elevation derived from radar (WGS84) in meters
surface_pick: Picked surface reflection in two-way travel time in seconds
time: Seconds of day
twt: Two-way travel time (twt) in seconds
--
Note that the surface picks were quality-checked for the standard product. For the qlook product only an auto-tracked surface pick is available.
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Season | Season | Miller, Heinrich | |||
| 2 | Event label | Event | Miller, Heinrich | |||
| 3 | Profile ID | Profile ID | Miller, Heinrich | |||
| 4 | Instrument | Instrument | Miller, Heinrich | |||
| 5 | Radar product | Radar prod | Miller, Heinrich | |||
| 6 | netCDF file | netCDF | Miller, Heinrich | Ultra-wideband radar (UWB), MCoRDS 5 | standard | |
| 7 | netCDF file (File Size) | netCDF (Size) | Bytes | Miller, Heinrich | Ultra-wideband radar (UWB), MCoRDS 5 | standard |
| 8 | netCDF file | netCDF | Miller, Heinrich | Ultra-wideband radar (UWB), MCoRDS 5 | qlook | |
| 9 | GIS file | GIS | Miller, Heinrich | Ultra-wideband radar (UWB), MCoRDS 5 | KML Files, standard | |
| 10 | GIS file | GIS | Miller, Heinrich | Ultra-wideband radar (UWB), MCoRDS 5 | KML Files, qlook | |
| 11 | Image | IMAGE | Miller, Heinrich | Ultra-wideband radar (UWB), MCoRDS 5 | Quicklook, standard | |
| 12 | Image | IMAGE | Miller, Heinrich | Ultra-wideband radar (UWB), MCoRDS 5 | Quicklook, qlook |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
760 data points
Data
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