On the Problem of the Sea Ice Detection by Orbital Microwave Doppler Radar at the Nadir Sounding

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper is dedicated to sea ice detection by orbital microwave Doppler radar in the case of nadir observation. A radar cross section is used to determine the type of scattering surface and to perform the sea ice/water discrimination. Also, the possibility of improving spatial resolution is discussed in the paper. The paper is written well. The results obtained are new, interesting, and valuable for the field. The results are clear, and their discussion is also presented well. The paper can be published as is. Nevertheless, the paper needs some corrections before its publication in the journal.

 

Corrections suggested.

 

1. Please, provide a reference for equation in Line 54.

2. Please, use ‘Equation’ instead of ‘formula’ in the text.

3. The left and right parts of Figure 14 are partially superimposed on each other. Please, adjust them.

4. Please, provide the future research plans outline in Conclusions.

5. Please, provide DOIs for references in section References.

 

 

So, the paper needs minor revision.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

please, find the reply in the attached file.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

There are a few minor corrections needed - see attached

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

please, find the reply in the attached file.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

 

1、Line 100， "However, from our point of view, the method that is based on the existing differences in the statistical characteristics of the sea ice and sea waves is more stable in processing. For example, at a positive air temperature, a thin layer of water (or wet ice) can form on the ice surface and the RCS will change compared to RCS of “dry” ice. A retrieval algorithm that uses the RCS as a criterion will give an error.". What is the error caused by this characteristic? If there is no verification of measured data, it is recommended to add simulation and compare it with the method in this paper.

2、Line 617, "The sea waves correlation time in the microwave range is less than 0.1 s, so all cells are uncorrelated," What is the basis? Where to quote?

3、"3. New Methods", The simulation process is not described clearly enough. It is suggested to describe the echo simulation and processing process in detail in combination with the actual radar concept in the future.

4、Many pictures are very rough. It is recommended to improve the resolution of the pictures.

5、The chapter number of the article is confused and must be carefully checked, e.g.  "2. Measurement at the Small Incidence Angles"，"2. Advanced View on the Doppler Spectrum","2.1. A Backscattered Radar Cross Section", “2.1. A Doppler Spectrum”

6、Should the abscissa of figure 9 be incidence angle?

 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

please, find the reply in the attached file.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf