Helm, Veit; Franke, Steven; Steinhage, Daniel; Eisen, Olaf; Zuhr, Alexandra; Bodart, Julien A; Sutter, Johannes (2026): ANT 2023/24: AWI airborne ultra-wideband radar data between Sør Rondane Mountains and the eastern DML ice divide (CHARISO Project) [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.990049
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Published: 2026-02-06 • DOI registered: 2026-02-25
Abstract:
In the Antarctic austral summer season of 2023/24 AWI ultra-wideband (UWB) data was acquired across prominent ice-streams draining parts of the DML region as part of the CHARISO (Swiss (CH) Antarctic Research Initiative - ISOchrones in East Antarctic outflow regions) project, providing an opportunity to trace isochrones there and compare their pattern with modelled isochrones from ice-sheet modelling. The data were further used to extend the layering across existing AWI DML lines in the upper section near the ice divide, and over the main ice divide to link up specific isochrones with the EDML and Dome Fuji ice cores and were recorded in a frequency range between 180-210 MHz. The data are available for both data products (qlook: unfocused; standard: SAR focused) as netCDF files (including waveforms and metadata), KML files of the profile line locations, and quicklook images of the radargrams.
Keyword(s):
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
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
Further details:
Bodart, Julien A; Sutter, Johannes (2025): Dated radar Internal Reflection Horizons (IRHs) from Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctica) for ice-sheet model calibration (Version V1) [dataset]. Zenodo, https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.17348976
Funding:
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (AWI), grant/award no. AWI_PA_02145: P6-244_ANT_23_24, CHARISO, P6-255_ANT_2024_2025
Coverage:
Median Latitude: -71.949012 * Median Longitude: 23.298784 * South-bound Latitude: -71.949031 * West-bound Longitude: 23.298721 * North-bound Latitude: -71.948998 * East-bound Longitude: 23.298910
Date/Time Start: 2023-12-03T07:05:13 * Date/Time End: 2023-12-04T11:45:46
Event(s):
P6_244_ANT_23_24_2312031001 (Flight 10) * Latitude Start: -71.949031 * Longitude Start: 23.298777 * Latitude End: -71.948998 * Longitude End: 23.298910 * Date/Time Start: 2023-12-03T07:05:13 * Date/Time End: 2023-12-03T11:35:12 * Campaign: P6-244_ANT_23_24 * Basis: POLAR 6 * Method/Device: Aircraft (AC)
P6_244_ANT_23_24_2312041201 (Flight 12) * Latitude Start: -71.949011 * Longitude Start: 23.298721 * Latitude End: -71.949010 * Longitude End: 23.298727 * Date/Time Start: 2023-12-04T07:09:47 * Date/Time End: 2023-12-04T11:45:46 * Campaign: P6-244_ANT_23_24 * Basis: POLAR 6 * Method/Device: Aircraft (AC)
Comment:
Project: CHARISO (Isochrones in East Antarctic outflow regions; Swiss Antarctic Research Initiative)
Region: Antarctica, Dronning Maud Land, South of Sør Rondane Mountains
Owner / PI: Olaf Eisen (AWI)
CHARISO PI: Johannes Sutter (Uni Bern - johannes.sutter@unibe.ch)
Email address of the provider:
olaf.eisen@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 | Helm, Veit | |||
| 2 | Event label | Event | Helm, Veit | |||
| 3 | Profile ID | Profile ID | Helm, Veit | |||
| 4 | Instrument | Instrument | Helm, Veit | |||
| 5 | Radar product | Radar prod | Helm, Veit | |||
| 6 | netCDF file | netCDF | Helm, Veit | Ultra-wideband radar (UWB), MCoRDS 5 | standard | |
| 7 | netCDF file (File Size) | netCDF (Size) | Bytes | Helm, Veit | Ultra-wideband radar (UWB), MCoRDS 5 | standard |
| 8 | netCDF file | netCDF | Helm, Veit | Ultra-wideband radar (UWB), MCoRDS 5 | qlook | |
| 9 | GIS file | GIS | Helm, Veit | Ultra-wideband radar (UWB), MCoRDS 5 | KML Files, standard | |
| 10 | GIS file | GIS | Helm, Veit | Ultra-wideband radar (UWB), MCoRDS 5 | KML Files, qlook | |
| 11 | Image | IMAGE | Helm, Veit | Ultra-wideband radar (UWB), MCoRDS 5 | Quicklook, standard | |
| 12 | Image | IMAGE | Helm, Veit | 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:
350 data points