| Term: | Melt extent |
| Definition: | The spatial extent (dimension [L2]) of melting on the surface of the glacier. The melt extent can be measured by microwave remote sensing of the brightness temperature with a passive-microwave sensor, or equivalent analysis of radar or scatterometer imagery. The spatial resolution of passive-microwave radiometers and scatterometers being low at present (several km or coarser), the method is mainly exploited on ice sheets and large ice caps. |