Microwave Remote Sensing

Name: Deepanshu Gupta Section: E1E49 Roll Number: RE1E49A ! "D: 11##4$$
Abstract - Microwaves are part of radio spectrum the frequency bands in the range of 3ghz to 30ghz are characterized as microwave. This part of spectrum has unique capabilities for microwave remote sensing. The microwaves can be used for remote sensing of objects in day as well as in night. There are two types of microwave sensors which can be used for microwave remote sensing. They are i! passive sensors and ii! active sensors. "lectromagnetic radiation in the microwave wavelength region is used in remote sensing to provide useful information about the "arth#s atmosphere$ land and ocean. %nde& Terms-'() 'ynthetic (perture )adar!$ *oppler$ lossy$ scatterometer$ s+yhorns. section calculate* +rom receive* power 9r an* antenna parameters 5At ) 9t ) Gt 6 an* the relationship between them) an* the ph,sical characteristics o+ an ob7ect- :or e0ample) rain+all can be measure* +rom the relationship between the si1e o+ water *rops an* the intensit, o+ rain+all"n passive microwave remote sensing) the characteristics o+ an ob7ect can be *etecte* +rom the relationship between the receive* power an* the ph,sical characteristics o+ the ob7ect such as attenuation an*.or ra*iation characteristicsNon;imaging microwave sensors inclu*e altimeters an* scatterometers- "n most cases these are pro+iling *evices which ta2e measurements in one linear *imension) as oppose* to the two; *imensional representation o+ imaging sensorsRa*ar altimeters transmit short microwave pulses an* measure the roun* trip time *ela, to targets to *etermine their *istance +rom the sensor- Generall, altimeters loo2 straight *own at na*ir below the plat+orm an* thus measure height or elevation 5i+ the altitu*e o+ the plat+orm is accuratel, 2nown6- Ra*ar altimetr, is use* on aircra+t +or altitu*e *etermination an* on aircra+t an* satellites +or topographic mapping an* sea sur+ace height estimation- Scatterometers are also generall, non; imaging sensors an* are use* to ma2e precise /uantitative measurements o+ the amount o+ energ, bac2scattere* +rom targets- %he amount o+ energ, bac2scattere* is *epen*ent on the sur+ace properties 5roughness6 an* the angle at which the microwave energ, stri2es the targetScatterometr, measurements over ocean sur+aces can be use* to estimate win* spee*s base* on the sea sur+ace roughness- Groun*;base* scatterometers are use* e0tensivel, to accuratel, measure the bac2scatter +rom various targets in or*er to characteri1e *i++erent materials an* sur+ace t,pes- %his is analogous to the concept o+ spectral re+lectance curves in the optical spectrum-

"N%R&D'(%"&N
Microwave remote sensing) using microwave ra*iation using wavelengths +rom about one centimeter to a +ew tens o+ centimeters enables observation in all weather con*itions without an, restriction b, clou* or rain- %his is an a*vantage that is not possible with the visible an*.or in+rare* remote sensing- "n a**ition) microwave remote sensing provi*es uni/ue in+ormation on +or e0ample) sea win* an* wave *irection) which are *erive* +rom +re/uenc, characteristics) Doppler e++ect) polari1ation) bac2 scattering etc- that cannot be observe* b, visible an* in+rare* sensors3owever) the nee* +or sophisticate* *ata anal,sis is the *isa*vantage in using microwave remote sensing%here are two t,pes o+ microwave remote sensing4 active an* passive- %he active type receives the bac2scattering which is re+lecte* +rom the transmitte* microwave which is inci*ent on the groun* sur+aceS,nthetic aperture ra*ar 5SAR6) microwave scatterometers) ra*ar altimeters etc- are active microwave sensors- %he passive type receives the microwave ra*iation emitte* +rom ob7ects on the groun*- %he microwave ra*iometer is one o+ the passive microwave sensors- %he process use* b, the active t,pe) +rom the transmission b, an antenna) to the reception b, the antenna is theoreticall, e0plaine* b, the radar equation %he process o+ the passive t,pe is e0plaine* using the theor, o+ ra*iative trans+er base* on the law o+ Ra,leigh 8eans - "n both active an* passive t,pes) the sensor ma, be *esigne* consi*ering the optimum +re/uenc, nee*e* +or the ob7ects to be observe*"n active microwave remote sensing) the characteristics o+ scattering can be *erive* +rom the radar cross

"NS%R'MEN%S
As mentione* above there are two classes o+ microwave instruments: Active instruments which generate their own illumination) the term being s,non,mous with ra*ar an* so having a great variet, o+ operating techni/ue: An* passive instruments which simpl, view the upwelling ra*iation *ue to temperature an* emissivit, characteristics o+ an,thing within the +iel* o+ view o+ the instrument) also calle* ra*iometers- %o *eal with the passive ra*iometers +irst) the basic instrument is itsel+ Nothing more than a sensitive calibrate* receiver accepting signals +rom an antenna- %his apparent simplicit, conceals a wi*e range o+ parameters which nee* to be *e+ine* be+ore buil*ing an* operating the instrument- :or most +eatures on the earth@s sur+ace the brightness temperature at Microwave +re/uencies is in the or*er o+ the +ew hun*re*s o+ *egrees 5(elsius63owever +or the purpose o+ i*enti+,ing an* *i++erentiating some o+ these +eatures the accurac, to which these brightness temperatures must be measure* is o+ the or*er o+ &-1#A- %his +igure is a goal +igure an* is probabl, onl, met occasionall, b, ra*iometers in service to*a,- Bith increasing sophistication o+ parameter mo*elling an* inversion algorithms the nee* to meet this accurate consistentl, an* reliabl, will grow- An a**itional a*vantage is the re*uction o+ the number o+ loss, elements in the +ront en* o+ the receiver- %his has the *ouble e++ect improving an* stabilising the +ront en* noise +igure- (learl, the basic measurement is o+ the sum o+ the wante* incoming ra*iation an* the internall, generate* noise o+ the receiver itsel+- (hanges in the receiver noise temperature must not be interprete* as changes in the wante* signal) an* mo*ern ra*iometers usuall, inclu*e *etaile* painsta2ing calibration o+ the noise temperature against the ph,sical temperature o+ the critical +ront en* components- %his lea*s to a re/uirement +or monitoring the ph,sical temperature o+ +ront en* +ilters) isolators) switches) an* even wavegui*e runs to enable a reconstruction o+ the noise temperature at the measurement moment- :or some applications the ra*iometer can operate in a +airl, stable environment) but on a low earth orbiting satellite the thermal c,cling will be consi*erable) an* even a+ter the best thermal control on boar* has been per+orme* there is still a nee* to measure the component ph,sical temperatures- %he element o+ a ra*iometer *etermining which ra*iation is being measure* is the antenna- %he re/uire* beamwi*th is usuall, the outcome o+ a tra*e o++ between the spatial resolution) the necessar, measurement time an* the accommo*ation available +or the antenna- Normall, a small spatial resolution an* there+ore large antenna is calle* +or b, the user) however an accurate measurement re/uires a long measurement time- Bhen the ra*iometer is mounte* on a moving plat+orm) or aircra+t) the measurement time is *irectl, proportional to the beamwi*th) thus calling +or a small antenna- At lower +re/uencies an* higher altitu*es the result o+ this tra*e o++ is usuall, overrule* b, the space available +or the instrument- %he +re/uenc, chosen +or the ra*iometer *epen*s on the phenomenon to be observe*) but current applications range +rom ! G31 to ##G31- %he lower range is use+ul +or groun* mapping applications where the atmosphere is nearl, transparent- Sometimes higher +re/uenc, ra*iometers ma, be carrie* to measure the contribution o+ the atmosphere which is use* to correct the lower +re/uenc, measurement- %he upper en* o+ the

Figure 1 Satellite Imaging

SAR
S,nthetic Aperture Ra*ar 5SAR6) microwave scatterometers) ra*ar altimeters are active microwave sensors- %he +unction o+ the SAR s,stem can be e0plaine* as +ollows: A +re/uenc, mo*ulate* baseban* pulse is compute* an* store* in the DSG 5Digital Signal Generator6 bu++er- At <## mh1 rate this pulse is D.A converte*) ";= mo*ulate* onto a ## mh1 ":) up;converte* to the SAR +re/uenc, 5>; or (;ban*6) ampli+ie*) an* +inall, transmitte* b, the antenna- Echoes are receive*) ampli+ie*) *own; converte*) *emo*ulate* an* *igiti1e*- An optional range pre;+iltering 5R9:6 can then be per+orme* where after the pea2 *ata rate is re*uce* b, the bu++er in the Digital :ront En* 5D:E6) thus +acilitating the optional a1imuth pre;+iltering 5A9:6%he pre;+iltere* *ata are recor*e* on a 3igh Densit, Digital %ape 53DD%6 as well as processe* b, the real;time processor 5one channel onl,6 +or *ispla, on a monitor simultaneousl, with the *ata ac/uisition-

Figure 2: Total SAR system %he 3.? switch ensures that the pulses are alternatel, transmitte* with hori1ontal an* vertical polari1ation- %hus +or each +re/uenc, one single transmitter is use*) while a *ual receiver s,stem is nee*e* to recor* both li2e an* cross polar signals 5or upper an* lower antenna +or single pass inter+erometr,6-

range is use* +or climatolog, an* the particular +re/uenc, is chosen to match the spectral lines o+ various atmospheric components- %he ra*iometer ma, be +i0e* on the remote sensing plat+orm in which case the movement o+ the plat+orm gives a line pro+ile o+ the phenomena being measure*- &r it ma, be scanning perpen*icular to the trac2 o+ the plat+orm which allows a two *imensional image to be built up- "t is o+ten a conse/uence o+ the scanning mechanism that there are moments when the antenna is obscure* b, +or e0ample the plat+orm structure in which case it is the practice to use this time +or calibration o+ the ra*iometerActive microwave instruments ma, be imaging or pro+iling- %he most well 2nown e0ample o+ an imaging instrument is the s,nthetic Aperture Ra*ar which was *escribe* above- "n the SAR a ra*ar mounte* on a moving plat+orm transmits an* receives pulses) an* ta2ing a*vantage o+ the *oppler sprea*ing o+ the receive* pulses the, ma, be coherentl, a**e* which has the e++ect o+ appearing to emanate +rom a ver, much larger antenna) with conse/uentl, ver, much smaller resolutionBithout going into the *etails o+ the mathematics) the result is that the ultimate resolution o+ the SAR is e/ual to hal+ the real antenna length) an* is in*epen*ent o+ +re/uenc, or range- %he theor, o+ SAR has been 2nown +or a long time: it is onl, comparativel, recentl, that the technolog, has been available 5to civil users6 to e0ploit it against internal noise sources- A less comple0 an* less *eman*ing imaging instrument is a scatterometer- %his uses a +an beam loo2ing si*ewa,s +rom the moving plat+orm to sweep out a swath on the groun*- %here is no coherent integration o+ successive pulses) so the resolution achieve* along trac2 is *etermine* b, the antenna length- :or some purposes a resolution o+ the or*er o+ tens o+ 2ilometres is a*e/uate) +or e0ample the mapping o+ win* +iel*s over the open ocean%he altimeter is an e0ample o+ the pro+iling t,pe o+ instrument- As the name implies this instrument measures the *istance to the nearest re+lecting point in the beam- Normall, the spatial resolution o+ an altimeter is *etermine* b, the pulse length so there are no critical parameters +or the antenna: it nee*s a goo* gain to re*uce the power re/uirements- %he characteristics o+ the pulse are much more critical: +or current applications a vertical resolution o+ the or*er o+ a +ew centimetres is re/uire*) thus the pulse ban*wi*th shoul* be o+ the or*er o+ several hun*re* megahert1-

continuousl, the per+ormance o+ the instrument4 both simple monitors o+ such things as transmitte* power an* receiver noise +igures) an* more comple0 loops to ensure the integrit, o+ the complete onboar* chain- :or passive ra*iometers as note* above the absolute value is important an* the internal calibration is *one both b, close testing an* monitoring o+ component ph,sical temperatures an* through the use o+ re+erence noise sources an* s2,horns- A**itional to the internal calibration there is a nee* to *evelop in +light calibration strategies using well 2nown groun* truth *ata either natural or man;ma*e- 3ar*ware *evelopments which are nee*e* are ver, much those o+ an, microwave s,stem%he characteristics o+ importance to remote sensing instrumentation inclu*e amplitu*e) gain an* phase stabilit, an* +or some instruments coherence over integration times o+ the or*er o+ secon*s:or space s,stems the usual nee* +or low mass) low power) long li+etime components is +oun*- ESA is currentl, +un*ing technolog, *evelopments on these lines in the areas o+ pulse power ampli+iers) pulse compression technolog,) local oscillators an* antennas%he power ampli+iers are being *esigne* +or high e++icienc, an* long li+e with goo* pulse amplitu*e an* phase per+ormance- 9ulse compression +ilters are *irecte* towar*s high pulse compression ratios with goo* si*elobe per+ormance- >ocal oscillator technolog, is concentrating on new techni/ues +or ensuring goo* long term stabilit, without *egra*ing short term per+ormanceAn* antenna *evelopments cover large *eplo,able wavegui*e arra,s- %he connection between the power ampli+ier an* the antenna is ver, critical in terms o+ losses an* mass so *evelopments will be re/uire* +or lightweight low loss high power isolators an* switches-

%E(3N"='ES
%he %echni/ues use* in Microwave Remote Sensing are summarise* as +ollows:

"nter+erometr, 9olarimetr, 9olarimetric SAR inter+erometr, Ra*iometr, "nter+erometric ra*iometr, "ce soun*er

%E(3N&>&GC RE='"REMEN%S
"mprovements in the per+ormance o+ microwave remote sensing instruments to meet the nee*s o+ the users o+ remote sensing *ata +all into two categories: better calibration o+ the instruments) an* better har*ware per+ormance- Bith the e0ception o+ ra*iometers most instruments use* to*a, are uncelebrate* in the sense that the measurement is ma*e o+ the variabilit, o+ the scene) an* +or man, applications this is goo* enough: +or e0ample in a signi+icant wave height measurement the slope o+ the lea*ing e*ge o+ the ra*ar return is use* but the absolute value is not important- 3owever man, *eveloping applications will nee* absolute values) thus imposing an absolute calibration re/uirement on the instrument) both internall, an* overall- (alibration har*ware must to be *evelope* +or chec2ing

A99>"(A%"&NS
>an* ice an* glaciers Sea ice Atmosphere &ceans

?egetation an* mapping Geolog,

"t is not an e0aggeration to sa, that almost an, remote sensing *iscipline can bene+it +rom microwave instrumentation) some more imme*iatel, an* speci+icall, than others) in*ee* the problem which arises when starting to *esign an instrument is that there are so man, users each with slightl, *i++erent re/uirements that it becomes *i++icult to satis+, all completel,- %he best one can hope is to be nearl, optimum +or most users- &ver the sea microwave instruments have been shown to be capable o+ Measuring wave heights an* win* spee* 5altimeter6) an* mapping win* vectors spee* an* *irection over a wi*e area 5scatterometer6- More controversiall, the, have measure* ocean wave *irectional spectra) ocean currents) an* bottom pro+iles 5SAR6- "ce boun*aries an* ice t,pes) +irst ,ear or multi,ear have been mappe* using ra*iometers(limatolog, is closel, lin2e* to oceanograph, since the energ, interchange between sea an* air has a *ominating impact on the global climates- So the sea measurements contribute strongl, to the *iscipline o+ (limatolog,- A**itionall, *irect measurements using imaging an* limb soun*ing ra*iometers contribute to the stu*, o+ the climate- %urning to the lan* the nee* +or high resolution to see *etails such as +iel* boun*aries gives S,nthetic Aperture Ra*ar 5SAR6 the greatest useApplications inclu*e cartograph, an* lan* use mapping) geolog, an* Resource evaluation- 'sing well calibrate* SARDs it will be possible to per+orm crop monitoring *uring the growing season) an* with multi;+re/uenc, SAR even crop i*enti+ication ma, be possible-

(&N(>'S"&N
Remote microwave sensors provi*e *a, an* night coverage un*er almost all;weather con*itions with relativel, coarse angular resolution- %here is goo* correlation o+ microwave measurements with groun* truth an* the *ata are use+ul- 'tili1ation o+ microwave sensors is much greater when ob7ects are *etecte* against 2nown bac2groun*s or changes are to be measure* +rom 2nown ob7ects- Eoth aircra+t an* satellites are viable plat+orms +or remote microwave sensors-

RE:EREN(ES
[1F Roughness E++ect o+ the Soil o+Alwar on 9assive an* Active an* R-A- 8angi*[2] A*vances in microwave remote sensing b, Douglas MaccollG F Remote Sensing o+ the earth b, microwaves b, Ai,o tomi,asu) +ellow) "EEE G4F D%' Space National space instituteG!F Natural Resources (ana*aG$F Microwave Remote Sensing 'sing Space Eorne Sensors b, & 9N (alla "nternational (entre +or Ra*io Science 8o*hpurMicrowave Remote Sensing b, ?-A-Gupta