Spatial-Resolution Enhancement of SMOS Data: A Deconvolution-Based Approach

A deconvolution-based model has been developed in an attempt to improve the spatial resolution of future soil moisture and ocean salinity (SMOS) data. This paper is devoted to the analysis and evaluation of different algorithms using brightness temperature images obtained from an upgraded version of the SMOS end-to-end performance simulator. Particular emphasis is made on the use of least-square-derived Lagrangian methods on the Fourier and wavelet domains. The possibility of adding suitable auxiliary information in the reconstruction process has also been addressed. Results indicate that, with these techniques, it is feasible to enhance the spatial resolution of SMOS observations by a factor of 1.75 while preserving the radiometric sensitivity simultaneously.