Introduction, purpose and scope

This is a ATBD for a SIT retrieval algorithm for CIMR. The method described here will use CIMR L1b brightness temperatures and corresponding output will be L2b, i.e. swath based Sea Ice Thickness values in original footprint coordinates of the L1b data product. For the retrieval only L-band brightness temperatures will be used in H and V polarization. Required information for the retrieval include the TEC and the TB uncertainties. The algorithm is based on the work of [Huntemann et al., 2014] and works originally on intensity and polarization difference. In this ATBD the algorithm is modified to use directly instrument provided horizontal and vertical TB polarization, including their uncertainties.

This document is describing the algorithm and processing steps and the processing of the L2b SIT product. The document is intended for the CIMR users and parties interested in the details of the algorithm. It is not intended to replace a product user guide. For the first version of the ATBD, the entire code is embedded in the corresponding notebooks. The code will be separated from the notebooks in the future and will be distributed in the “algorithm” directory of this repository.