All radar power interpretations require a correction for attenuative losses. Moreover, radar attenuation is a proxy for ice-column properties, such as temperature and chemistry. Prior studies use either paired thermodynamic and conductivity models or the radar data themselves to calculate attenuation, but there is no standard method to do so; and, before now, there has been no robust methodological comparison. Here, we develop a framework meant to guide the implementation of empirical attenuation methods based on survey design and regional glaciological conditions. We divide the methods into the three main groups: (1) those that infer attenuation from a single reflector across many traces; (2) those that infer attenuation from multiple reflectors within one trace; and (3) those that infer attenuation by contrasting the measured power from primary and secondary reflections. To assess our framework, we introduce a new ground-based radar survey from South Pole Lake, comparing selected empirical methods to the expected attenuation from a temperature- and chemistry-dependent Arrhenius model. Based on the small surveyed area, lack of a sufficient calibration surface and low reflector relief, the attenuation methods that use multiple reflectors are most suitable at South Pole Lake.

中文翻译：

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南极湖穿冰雷达数据评估的衰减方法选择框架

所有雷达功率解释都需要对衰减损耗进行校正。此外，雷达衰减是冰柱属性的代表，例如温度和化学。先前的研究使用配对的热力学和电导率模型或雷达数据本身来计算衰减，但没有标准方法可以这样做；而且，在此之前，还没有可靠的方法比较。在这里，我们开发了一个框架，旨在指导基于调查设计和区域冰川条件的经验衰减方法的实施。我们将这些方法分为三个主要组：（1）从单个反射器跨多个迹线推断衰减的方法；(2) 从一条迹线内的多个反射器推断衰减的那些；(3) 通过对比来自初级和次级反射的测量功率来推断衰减的那些。为了评估我们的框架，我们从南极湖引入了一项新的地面雷达调查，将选定的经验方法与依赖于温度和化学的 Arrhenius 模型的预期衰减进行比较。由于测量面积小，缺乏足够的标定面和反射面起伏低，使用多个反射面的衰减方法最适合南极湖。