Two-dimensional synthetic aperture radiometry over land surface during soil moisture experiment in 2003 (SMEX03)

Abstract

Microwave radiometry at low frequencies (L-band, ∼ 1.4 GHz) has been known as an optimal solution for remotesensing of soil moisture. However, the antenna size required to achieve an appropriate resolution from space has limited the development of spaceborne L-band radiometers. This problem can be addressed by interferometru: technology called aperture synthesis. The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission will apply this technique to monitor global-scale surface parameters in the near future. The first airborne experiment using an aircraft prototype of this approach, the Two-Dimensional Synthetic Aperture Radiometer (2D-STAR), was performed in the Soil Moisture Experiment in 2003 (S..