A new fast methodology to estimate the density of frozen materials by means of common offset GPR data

•New methodology to estimate density of frozen media using common offset GPR data.•The proposed technique bases on reflection amplitude analysis.•We critically evaluated and tested the new approach on synthetic and real data.•Applying empirical equations we calculated density variations and WE.

We propose a methodology to estimate the density of frozen media (snow, firn and ice) using common offset (CO) GPR data. The technique is based on reflection amplitude analysis to calculate the series of reflection coefficients used to estimate the dielectric permittivity of each layer. We determine the vertical density variations for all the GPR traces by applying an empirical equation. We are thus able to infer the nature of frozen materials, from fresh snow to firn and ice. The proposed technique is critically evaluated and validated on synthetic data and further tested on real data of the Glacier of Mt. Canin (South-Eastern Alps). Despite the simplifying hypotheses and the necessary approximations, the average values of density for different levels are calculated with acceptable accuracy. The resulting large-scale density data are fundamental to estimate the water equivalent (WE), which is an essential parameter to determine the actual water mass within a certain frozen volume. Moreover, this analysis can help to find and locate debris or moraines embedded within the ice bodies.