Processing and initial comparison of PSR data from CAMEX-3 to SSM/I and TMI data

A multiband Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer (PSR) was integrated on a NASA DC-8 aircraft and flown from August through September of 1998 during the third Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-3). The PSR is a new conically-scanning imaging radiometer with channels at 10.7, 18.7, 21.5, 37.0 and 89.0 GHz, including both vertical and horizontal polarizations at each of these frequencies. These channels correspond to several key sensing bands of the DMSP (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program) SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave Imager) and the NASA TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) TMI (TRMM Microwave Imager). The PSR was developed by Georgia Institute of Technology and the NOAA Environmental Technology Laboratory and is the first airborne imaging radiometer to provide a research quality dataset of high spatial resolution multiband polarimetric microwave imagery within and around a hurricane. The authors describe the processing and calibration of the PSR CAMEX-3 dataset. They also provide a qualitative analysis and comparison of the PSR imagery to the SSM/I and TMI with specific regard to the spatial structure of a hurricane eyewall and surrounding rainbands.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Soccer at the Microscale: Small Robots with Big Impact

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On Board Accurate Calibration of Dual-Channel Radiometers Using Internal and External References

This paper presents a method for combining internal noise injection and external reference standard looks to accurately calibrate an airborne dual-channel radiometer. The method allows real-time estimation of the correct values of the radiometer gains and offsets, even for nontemperature-stabilized radiometers and with minimum loss of measurement time spent in external load measurement. Crosstalk and leakage introduced by the noise injection circuitry is also taken into account, thus providing high gain and offset estimation accuracy. The method was implemented on a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration airborne instrument, the Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer, which was used to obtain an extensive set of radiometric measurements over oceanic convection during CAMEX3 in August–September 1998

Performance Analysis of a Hardware Implemented Complex Signal Kurtosis Radio-Frequency Interference Detector

Radio-frequency interference (RFI) is a known problem for passive remote sensing as evidenced in the L-band radiometers SMOS, Aquarius and more recently, SMAP. Various algorithms have been developed and implemented on SMAP to improve science measurements. This was achieved by the use of a digital microwave radiometer. RFI mitigation becomes more challenging for microwave radiometers operating at higher frequencies in shared allocations. At higher frequencies larger bandwidths are also desirable for lower measurement noise further adding to processing challenges. This work focuses on finding improved RFI mitigation techniques that will be effective at additional frequencies and at higher bandwidths. To aid the development and testing of applicable detection and mitigation techniques, a wide-band RFI algorithm testing environment has been developed using the Reconfigurable Open Architecture Computing Hardware System (ROACH) built by the Collaboration for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER) Group. The testing environment also consists of various test equipment used to reproduce typical signals that a radiometer may see including those with and without RFI. The testing environment permits quick evaluations of RFI mitigation algorithms as well as show that they are implementable in hardware. The algorithm implemented is a complex signal kurtosis detector which was modeled and simulated. The complex signal kurtosis detector showed improved performance over the real kurtosis detector under certain conditions. The real kurtosis is implemented on SMAP at 24 MHz bandwidth. The complex signal kurtosis algorithm was then implemented in hardware at 200 MHz bandwidth using the ROACH. In this work, performance of the complex signal kurtosis and the real signal kurtosis are compared. Performance evaluations and comparisons in both simulation as well as experimental hardware implementations were done with the use of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The complex kurtosis algorithm has the potential to reduce data rate due to onboard processing in addition to improving RFI detection performance

Performance Analysis of a Hardware Implemented Complex Signal Kurtosis Radio-Frequency Interference Detector

In the field of microwave radiometry, Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) consistently degrades the value of scientific results. Through the use of digital receivers and signal processing, the effects of RFI on scientific measurements can be reduced depending on certain circumstances. As technology allows us to implement wider band digital receivers for radiometry, the problem of RFI mitigation changes. Our work focuses on finding a detector that outperforms real kurtosis in wide band scenarios. The algorithm implemented is a complex signal kurtosis detector which was modeled and simulated. The performance of both complex and real signal kurtosis is evaluated for continuous wave, pulsed continuous wave, and wide band quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulations. The use of complex signal kurtosis increased the detectability of interference

Wideband Digital Signal Processing Test-Bed for Radiometric RFI Mitigation

Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) is a persistent and growing problem experienced by spaceborne microwave radiometers. Recent missions such as SMOS, SMAP, and GPM have detected RFI in L, C, X, and K bands. To proactively deal with this issue, microwave radiometers must (1) Utilize new algorithms for RFI detection (2) Utilize fast digital back-ends that sample at hundreds of MHz. The wideband digital signal processing testbed (WB-RFI) is a platform that allows rapid development and testing various RFI detection and mitigation algorithms

IceCube: CubeSat Demonstration of 883-GHz Cloud Ice Radiometer

No abstract availabl