The Accumulation Radar airborne system provides a high-resolution profile of the top of the ice. By looking at this top layer, Accumulation Radar enables Operation IceBridge scientists to map variations in annual snow accumulation rates.

The Accumulation Radar airborne system operated from 2010 to 2018. Operation IceBridge campaigns continue to be conducted on an annual repeating basis. Arctic and Greenland campaigns are conducted during March, April, and May, and Antarctic campaigns are conducted during October and November.

Accumulation Radar achieves a fine depth resolution profiling of the top 100 meters of the ice column, and is designed to map variations in the snow accumulation rate. When operated from aircraft, the Accumulation Radar operates from 600 to 900 MHz, providing 28-cm depth resolution in ice. When operated on the ground (500 MHz to 2 GHz), a 5.6-cm depth resolution in ice is achieved. This fine depth resolution enables extensive spatial mapping of the annual accumulation layers.