Ignasi Corbella

Downscaling SMOS-Derived Soil Moisture Using MODIS Visible/Infrared Data

A downscaling approach to improve the spatial resolution of Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) soil moisture estimates with the use of higher resolution visible/infrared (VIS/IR) satellite data is presented. The algorithm is based on the so-called “universal triangle” concept that relates VIS/IR parameters, such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Land Surface Temperature (Ts), to the soil moisture status. It combines the accuracy of SMOS observations with the high spatial resolution of VIS/IR satellite data into accurate soil moisture estimates at high spatial resolution. In preparation for the SMOS launch, the algorithm was tested using observations of the UPC Airborne RadIomEter at L-band (ARIEL) over the Soil Moisture Measurement Network of the University of Salamanca (REMEDHUS) in Zamora (Spain), and LANDSAT imagery. Results showed fairly good agreement with ground-based soil moisture measurements and illustrated the strength of the link between VIS/IR satellite data and soil moisture status. Following the SMOS launch, a downscaling strategy for the estimation of soil moisture at high resolution from SMOS using MODIS VIS/IR data has been developed. The method has been applied to some of the first SMOS images acquired during the commissioning phase and is validated against in situ soil moisture data from the OZnet soil moisture monitoring network, in South-Eastern Australia. Results show that the soil moisture variability is effectively captured at 10 and 1 km spatial scales without a significant degradation of the root mean square error.

The WISE 2000 and 2001 field experiments in support of the SMOS mission: sea surface L-band brightness temperature observations and their application to sea surface salinity retrieval

Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) is an Earth Explorer Opportunity Mission from the European Space Agency with a launch date in 2007. Its goal is to produce global maps of soil moisture and ocean salinity variables for climatic studies using a new dual-polarization L-band (1400-1427 MHz) radiometer Microwave Imaging Radiometer by Aperture Synthesis (MIRAS). SMOS will have multiangular observation capability and can be optionally operated in full-polarimetric mode. At this frequency the sensitivity of the brightness temperature (T/sub B/) to the sea surface salinity (SSS) is low: 0.5 K/psu for a sea surface temperature (SST) of 20/spl deg/C, decreasing to 0.25 K/psu for a SST of 0/spl deg/C. Since other variables than SSS influence the T/sub B/ signal (sea surface temperature, surface roughness and foam), the accuracy of the SSS measurement will degrade unless these effects are properly accounted for. The main objective of the ESA-sponsored Wind and Salinity Experiment (WISE) field experiments has been the improvement of our understanding of the sea state effects on T/sub B/ at different incidence angles and polarizations. This understanding will help to develop and improve sea surface emissivity models to be used in the SMOS SSS retrieval algorithms. This paper summarizes the main results of the WISE field experiments on sea surface emissivity at L-band and its application to a performance study of multiangular sea surface salinity retrieval algorithms. The processing of the data reveals a sensitivity of T/sub B/ to wind speed extrapolated at nadir of /spl sim/0.23-0.25 K/(m/s), increasing at horizontal (H) polarization up to /spl sim/0.5 K/(m/s), and decreasing at vertical (V) polarization down to /spl sim/-0.2 K/(m/s) at 65/spl deg/ incidence angle. The sensitivity of T/sub B/ to significant wave height extrapolated to nadir is /spl sim/1 K/m, increasing at H-polarization up to /spl sim/1.5 K/m, and decreasing at V-polarization down to -0.5 K/m at 65/spl deg/. A modulation of the instantaneous brightness temperature T/sub B/(t) is found to be correlated with the measured sea surface slope spectra. Peaks in T/sub B/(t) are due to foam, which has allowed estimates of the foam brightness temperature and, taking into account the fractional foam coverage, the foam impact on the sea surface brightness temperature. It is suspected that a small azimuthal modulation /spl sim/0.2-0.3 K exists for low to moderate wind speeds. However, much larger values (4-5 K peak-to-peak) were registered during a strong storm, which could be due to increased foam. These sensitivities are satisfactorily compared to numerical models, and multiangular T/sub B/ data have been successfully used to retrieve sea surface salinity.

Radiometric sensitivity computation in aperture synthesis interferometric radiometry

This paper is concerned with the radiometric sensitivity computation of an aperture synthesis interferometric radiometer devoted to Earth observation. The impact of system parameters and the use of simultaneous redundant measurements are analyzed. The interferometric radiometer uncertainty principle is presented; it quantifies the relationship between radiometric sensitivity and angular resolution.

MIRAS end-to-end calibration: application to SMOS L1 processor

End-to-end calibration of the Microwave Imaging Radiometer by Aperture Synthesis (MIRAS) radiometer refers to processing the measured raw data up to dual-polarization brightness temperature maps over the earths surface, which is the level 1 product of the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission. The process starts with a self-correction of comparators offset and quadrature error and is followed by the calibration procedure itself. This one is based on periodically injecting correlated and uncorrelated noise to all receivers in order to measure their relevant parameters, which are then used to correct the raw data. This can deal with most of the errors associated with the receivers but does not correct for antenna errors, which must be included in the image reconstruction algorithm. Relative S-parameters of the noise injection network and of the input switch are needed as additional data, whereas the whole process is independent of the exact value of the noise source power and of the distribution network physical temperature. On the other hand, the approach relies on having at least one very well-calibrated reference receiver, which is implemented as a noise injection radiometer. The result is the calibrated visibility function, which is inverted by the image reconstruction algorithm to get the brightness temperature as a function of the director cosines at the antenna reference plane. The final step is a coordinate rotation to obtain the horizontal and vertical brightness temperature maps over the earth. The procedures presented are validated using a complete SMOS simulator previously developed by the authors.

On-board phase and modulus calibration of large aperture synthesis radiometers: study applied to MIRAS

On-board calibration of bidimensional aperture synthesis radiometers with a large number of antennas by the standard correlated noise injection method is technologically very critical because of the stringent requirements on mass, volume, and phase equalization of the noise distribution network. A novel approach, which makes use of a set of uncorrelated noise sources uniformly distributed in the array, is proposed. Each noise source drives correlated noise only to a small set of adjacent antennas. These sets of antennas are overlapped in order to maintain phase and modulus track along the array. This approach reduces drastically mass and volume of the noise distribution network. Moreover, its phase matching requirement is strongly relaxed because it is only necessary within small sets of adjacent antennas. Power stability of the uncorrelated noise sources is also not a stringent requirement. This procedure allows independent phase and modulus calibration by making use of a reduced number of redundant correlations.

The emissivity of foam-covered water surface at L-band: theoretical modeling and experimental results from the FROG 2003 field experiment

Sea surface salinity can be measured by microwave radiometry at L-band (1400-1427 MHz). This frequency is a compromise between sensitivity to the salinity, small atmospheric perturbation, and reasonable pixel resolution. The description of the ocean emission depends on two main factors: (1) the sea water permittivity, which is a function of salinity, temperature, and frequency, and (2) the sea surface state, which depends on the wind-induced wave spectrum, swell, and rain-induced roughness spectrum, and by the foam coverage and its emissivity. This study presents a simplified two-layer emission model for foam-covered water and the results of a controlled experiment to measure the foam emissivity as a function of salinity, foam thickness, incidence angle, and polarization. Experimental results are presented, and then compared to the two-layer foam emission model with the measured foam parameters used as input model parameters. At 37 psu salt water the foam-induced emissivity increase is /spl sim/0.007 per millimeter of foam thickness (extrapolated to nadir), increasing with increasing incidence angles at vertical polarization, and decreasing with increasing incidence angles at horizontal polarization.

Impact of antenna errors on the radiometric accuracy of large aperture synthesis radiometers

A classification of system errors in aperture synthesis radiometry applied to Earth observation is presented. A general procedure to quantify the impact of antenna errors on the radiometric accuracy is developed and is then particularized to an L-band Y-shaped interferometer called MIRAS (microwave imaging radiometer by aperture synthesis) currently under study at the European Space Agency. This work analyzes in detail the impact of antenna errors on the radiometric accuracy of the instrument. These antenna errors are grouped into amplitude and phase antenna pattern errors, antenna position errors and antenna cross polarization errors. Special attention is paid to antenna coupling effects because of their importance in the selection of a suitable inversion algorithm for large aperture synthesis interferometers: the G-matrix techniques or the Fourier techniques proposed for MIRAS.

MIRAS Calibration and Performance: Results From the SMOS In-Orbit Commissioning Phase

After the successful launching of the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite in November 2009, continuous streams of data started to be regularly downloaded and made available to be processed. The first six months of operation were fully dedicated to the In-Orbit Commissioning Phase, with an intense activity aimed at bringing the satellite and instrument into a fully operational condition. Concerning the payload Microwave Imaging Radiometer with Aperture Synthesis, it was fully characterized using specific orbits dedicated to check all instrument modes. The procedures, already defined during the on-ground characterization, were repeated so as to obtain realistic temperature characterization and updated internal calibration parameters. External calibration maneuvers were tested for the first time and provided absolute instrument calibration, as well as corrections to internal calibration data. Overall, performance parameters, such as stability, radiometric sensitivity and radiometric accuracy were evaluated. The main results of this activity are presented in this paper, showing that the instrument delivers stable and well-calibrated data thanks to the combination of external and internal calibration and to an accurate thermal characterization. Finally, the quality of the visibility calibration is demonstrated by producing brightness temperature images in the alias-free field of view using standard inversion techniques. Images of ocean, ice, and land are given as examples.

Angular resolution of two-dimensional, hexagonally sampled interferometric radiometers

A theoretical analysis of the angular resolution of two-dimensional interferometric radiometers for Earth observation from low-orbit satellites and its degradation due to spatial decorrelation effects is presented. The analysis extends basic effects known in the context of radio astronomy (application with narrow field of view, very few baselines) and in one dimension (ESTAR L band, few baselines interferometric radiometer) to the wide-field-of-view, many-baseline, high-resolution two-dimensional system required by Earth observation applications and computes beam width, encircled energy (or main beam efficiency), and side lobe level as a function of windowing (apodization) to allow for an optimum angular versus radiometric resolution trade-off. It is found that the extension of the Barlett window (which has a poor performance in one dimensional signal processing) to two dimensions produces high-quality results, comparable or better than those of Gaussian and Blackmann windows. Theory is extended to hexagonally sampled systems based on a ? or Y-shaped instrument, with hexagonal- and star-shaped support regions in the visibility space, respectively. The superior performance of the latter over the former for the same number of antennas and correlators is quantified and details of the angular resolution of one instrument of this kind, MIRAS, under development by the European Space Agency, are presented. For this radiometer Gaussian or Barlett windows should be used for good radiometric sensitivity or spatial resolution, respectively. In both cases the effects of decorrelation within the small alias-free field of view are negligible. It is also found that the impact of hardware imperfections which exist within the strict requirements of the specifications have a negligible effect on the angular resolution. Finally, experimental angular resolution results with a laboratory breadboard in a focused near-field setup are presented and compared to the theoretical predictions.

Impact of receiver errors on the radiometric resolution of large two-dimensional aperture synthesis radiometers

The specifications of the subsystems that compound a radiometer interferometer devoted to Earth observation are of main concern because they set the viability and final performance of such an instrument. The importance of these errors is related to the exact way they are generated, since this determines if a particular calibration procedure is capable of removing them or if they remain as residual errors. This paper presents a general method to analyze system errors. This method is used to analyze in detail the amplitude and phase errors of the receivers and their impact on the radiometric resolution. Special attention has been paid to nonseparable errors, since foreseen calibration procedures can only deal with separable phase and amplitude terms. Finally, the results have been used to set the receiver requirements of the instrument called MIRAS (microwave imaging radiometer by aperture synthesis), which is currently being developed by the European Space Agency (ESA).