Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 15:24:13 -0800
From: mrd@sundog.jpl.nasa.gov (Mark R. Drinkwater)
To: james@santa.asf.alaska.edu, harry@apl.washington.edu,
        vkaupp@images.alaska.edu
Subject: Suggested Background Mission and Telecon Votes
Cc: Benjamin.M.Holt@jpl.nasa.gov

Harry and Verne/Jim

I would like to make a recommendation regarding a
background mission for the unused US data quota.
The assumption is it will be "in mask" McMurdo received
data, and thus can be "calibrated" SWB beam acquisition
data (not expensive tape-recorded data.

I vote for a study initially of this autumn season's
freeze-up in the Ross Sea/Amundsen Basin in the region 
encompassing the entire mask. This would require a few
of ScanSAR acquisitions a day, which are modulated by
the typical ice coverage (and increasing generally in
number from around now onwards - as austral freeze-up
takes place).

Justification - No single seasonal SAR cycle of ice conditions
exists anywhere in Antarctica from either ERS-1/2 or Radarsat.
For years I canvassed ESA to do it - and indeed they seriously
plan to do so with the Envisat wide swath/low res (global)
mode. High res. ScanSAR data would be infinitely better though!
- ALso - there is a shipborne experiment there at present
with the Nathaniel Palmer icebreaker (JEffries) on station.