ISSN 2070-7401 (Print), ISSN 2411-0280 (Online)
Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa
CURRENT PROBLEMS IN REMOTE SENSING OF THE EARTH FROM SPACE

  

Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2016, Vol. 13, No. 6, pp. 273-285

Analysis of measuring capabilities and empirical model of instrumental distortions of ZOND-PP satellite microwave L-band radiometric instrument for calibration and data processing

M.T. Smirnov 1 
1 Fryazino Dept. of V.A. Kotelnikov Institute of Radioengineering and Electronics RAS, Fryazino, Russia
Accepted: 16.09.2016
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2016-13-6-273-285
The method of analysis of measuring capabilities of L-band microwave radiometer ZOND-PP and the allocation and correction of interference that affect the measurements are presented. An experiment with the radiometer was performed on small spacecraft MKA FKI No. 1 in 2012–13. It has stressed the need for precise calibration of the output signals of microwave radiometer and assessment of its operation stability in space. To improve the retrieval accuracy of geophysical parameters an algorithm is proposed for the measurements calibration taking into account variations in temperature of the antenna of the radiometric system. The estimates of the fluctuation sensitivity of the radiometer are made. It has been shown that significant impact on the accuracy of measurements provided the means of radar and radio communications, as well as extraterrestrial sources of radiation: the Sun and the Galaxy. Along with external interference which had local character and was dependent on the position of the satellite in orbit, the measured signals were sometimes distorted by long gradual changes. This, in its turn, proposed the model of measurement that takes into account the main factors influencing the signal of the radiometer. The analysis of the possible causes of the observed variations of the output signal in one of the channels of microwave radiometric system is made. The method of allocation of the measured signals distorted by external interference based on the use of a priori information and model calculations is proposed.
Keywords: passive microwave remote sensing, L-band, algorithms, methods, satellites
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