Xavier Bosch-Lluis

Land Geophysical Parameters Retrieval Using the Interference Pattern GNSS-R Technique

In the past years, the scientific community has placed a special interest in remotely sensing soil moisture and vegetation parameters. Radiometry and radar techniques have been widely used for years. Global Navigation Satellite Systems opportunity signals Reflected (GNSS-R) over the earths surface are younger, but they have already shown their potential to perform these observations. This paper presents a GNSS-R technique, based on Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements, that allows the retrieval of several geophysical parameters from land surfaces. This technique measures the power of the interference signal between the direct GPS signal and the reflected one after scattering over the land, so it is called Interference Pattern Technique (IPT). This paper presents the results obtained after applying the IPT for topography, soil moisture, and vegetation height retrievals over vegetation-covered soils.

Soil Moisture Retrieval Using GNSS-R Techniques: Experimental Results Over a Bare Soil Field

This paper presents a new technique to retrieve soil moisture using global navigation satellite signals reflected over the soil surface using the measurement of the power fluctuations of the signal created by the interference between the direct GPS signal and the one reflected over the soil surface. As a function of the elevation angle, power fluctuations at vertical polarization pass through a notch, which is related to the soil moisture content, while horizontal polarization exhibits a very weak dependence. Experimental results of the measurements obtained over a bare soil field are presented and discussed.

Correction of the Sea State Impact in the L-Band Brightness Temperature by Means of Delay-Doppler Maps of Global Navigation Satellite Signals Reflected Over the Sea Surface

This paper presents an efficient procedure based on 2-D convolutions to obtain delay-Doppler maps (DDMs) of Global Navigation Satellite Signals reflected (GNSS-R) over the sea surface and collected by a spaceborne receiver. Two DDM-derived observables (area and volume) are proposed to link the sea-state-induced brightness temperature to the measured normalized DDM. Finally, the requirements to use Global Positioning System reflectometry to accurately correct for the sea state impact on the L-band brightness temperature (quantization levels, decimation, truncation, and noise impact) are analyzed in view of its implementation in the Passive Advanced Unit instrument of the Spanish Earth Observation Satellite (SeoSAT/INGENIO) project.

An Efficient Algorithm to the Simulation of Delay–Doppler Maps of Reflected Global Navigation Satellite System Signals

A new and efficient algorithm to compute delay-Doppler maps is presented. It improves by more than an order of magnitude the required computation time and memory resources. This approach is based on the derivation of explicit expressions of the space coordinates as a function of the delay offset and Doppler shift. Using this technique, the limitation posed by the number of sampling points of the observed surface is drastically attenuated, and a wide range of scenarios from low- to medium-height airborne-to-spaceborne scenarios can now be simulated with standard desktop computers.

Ocean Surface's Scattering Coefficient Retrieval by Delay–Doppler Map Inversion

Global navigation satellite system reflectometry of signals is a promising technique to remotely sense a number of Earths geophysical parameters, and it has been proposed for ocean monitoring applications such as mesoscale altimetry or sea state monitoring. So far, the following two main approaches have been considered to retrieve a sea state descriptor from measured delay waveforms or delay-Doppler (DD) maps (DDMs): 1) fitting the measurements to a model tuned with the desired parameter or 2) directly linking a property of the measurements with the parameter to be retrieved (e.g., volume of the normalized DDM). However, these approaches provide a single sea state descriptor related to the overall glistening zone where sea state conditions may not be homogeneous. In this letter, the relationship between the physical space and the DD domains is exploited, and a method to retrieve the bistatic scattering coefficient distribution over the observation ocean surface from measured DDMs is proposed.

Sea-State Determination Using GNSS-R Data

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals can be used to infer geophysical data related to the surface where they scatter. When dealing with the sea surface, its state influences the GNSS scattered signals and, therefore, the GNSS reflectometry (GNSS-R) observables. The aim of the Advanced L-band Emissivity and Reflectivity Observations of the Sea Surface 2008 field experiment was to gather experimental data to study the relationship of the GNSS-R delay-Doppler maps (DDMs) and the sea state. This work describes the field campaign and the main results obtained, where among them is the use of the DDM volume as a roughness descriptor weakly affected by the GPS satellite geometry.

Vegetation Water Content Estimation Using GNSS Measurements

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) opportunity signals reflected at or near the Earths surface have already shown their potential to perform retrievals of a number of geophysical parameters. Radio occultations using GNSS signals are also used for atmospheric sensing. This letter presents a GNSS technique to retrieve vegetation water content (VWC). This technique measures the received powers of the GPS signals in open sky and under the vegetation layer. From these two powers, the attenuation due to the vegetation is computed, which is related to the VWC. This letter presents the results obtained after deploying the instrument in a walnut-tree stand for 11 months.

Experimental Determination of the Sea Correlation Time Using GNSS-R Coherent Data

The feasibility of the Global Navigation Satellite Signal Reflectometry (GNSS-R) techniques has been proven for remote determination of sea state. When using GNSS-R techniques, coherent integration time is limited by the correlation time of the surface under observation which, in the case of the ocean, depends on sea state. In this letter, a new technique to retrieve the sea correlation time at L-band using GNSS-R coherent data is presented along with experimental results.

Design and first results of an UAV-borne L-band radiometer for multiple monitoring purposes

UAV (unmanned Aerial Vehicle) platforms represent a challenging opportunity for the deployment of a number of remote sensors. These vehicles are a cost-effective option in front of manned aerial vehicles (planes and helicopters), are easy to deploy due to the short runways needed, and they allow users to meet the critical requirements of the spatial and temporal resolutions imposed by the instruments. L-band radiometers are an interesting option for obtaining soil moisture maps over local areas with relatively high spatial resolution for precision agriculture, coastal monitoring, estimation of the risk of fires, flood prevention, etc. This paper presents the design of a light-weight, airborne L-band radiometer for deployment in a small UAV, including the hardware and specific software developed for calibration, geo-referencing, and soil moisture retrieval. First results and soil moisture retrievals from different field experiments are presented.

End-to-end simulator for Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry space mission

This paper presents an end-to-end simulator to assess the performances of Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) space missions for altimetry or sea state determination. The presented simulator is capable of simulating the GNSS-R observation scenario including the states of the transmitting and receiving satellites, the full instrument modeling, and scattering physical modeling based on an actual geophysical database. It provides useful tools for research and development on GNSS-R remote sensing.