Measurement of SST and SSS Using Frequencies in the Range 0.3–2.0 GHz

Abstract

Modern remote sensing radiometers in space at the long wavelength end of the microwave spectrum, such as flown on Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) spacecraft (Kerr et al., 2010) and Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) spacecraft (Entekhabi et al., 2010(Entekhabi et al., , 2014, operate in the narrow 27 MHz of spectrum at 1.413 GHz protected for passive use. Operating in protected spectrum is necessary to detect natural thermal emission from the surface and avoid being overwhelmed by interference from manmade sources of radiation. These radiometers have demonstrated remote sensing of sea surface salinity (SSS) (

Simulation Framework and Case Studies for the Design of Sea Surface Salinity Remote Sensing Missions

“…From our case studies, we conclude that wideband and targeted revisit systems are capable of meeting these challenges and broadly improving the state of the art in SSS remote measurement. Similar conclusions have also been reached from recent theoretical sensitivity studies [7], whereas our work supports these conclusions from a practical perspective.…”

“…Both NASA and ESA/CNES-funded study teams are working to refine concepts that could enable SSS remote sensing at higher resolution (such as SMOS-HR, [5]) and with greater sensitivity (such as UW-BRAD, [6]). The use of a broadband radiometer system is particularly interesting due to its potential to significantly reduce the dependence of SSS retrievals on accurate ancillary data [6] and increased sensitivity to SSS in general [7]. While broadband measurements have been conventionally limited by RFI, the recent CubeRRT mission has effectively demonstrated that RFI can be mitigated to great effect through the use of digital spectrometers with high spectral resolution [8].…”