Title :
A preliminary evaluation of the absolute backscatter calibration of the ERS-1 altimeter using a passive technique
Author :
Greco, Bruno ; Castracane, Paolo ; Pierdicca, Nazzareno ; Martini, Annalisa ; Ciotti, Piero ; Marzano, Frank Silvio
Author_Institution :
Eur. Space Agency/ESRIN, Frascati, Italy
Abstract :
This paper focuses on the determination of receiver gain and offset of the ERS-1 radar altimeter, operated in listen-only mode over few orbits. The determination is carried out by examining the receiver response over different types of earth surfaces against concurrent measurements of other radiometers and an ocean emission model. The results are discussed, and it is shown how this technique can be refined to support the determination of the absolute backscattering coefficient, if the transmitted power and the antenna characteristics are known
Keywords :
calibration; geophysical equipment; geophysical techniques; oceanographic equipment; oceanographic techniques; remote sensing by radar; spaceborne radar; terrain mapping; 13.8 GHz; ERS-1; Radar Altimeter; SHF; absolute backscatter calibration; absolute backscattering coefficient; geophysical measurement technique; instrument; land surface; ocean; offset; radar altimetry; radar remote sensing; receiver gain; receiver response; sea surface; spaceborne radar; terrain mapping; Antenna measurements; Backscatter; Calibration; Earth; Extraterrestrial measurements; Orbits; Radar; Radiometers; Sea measurements; Sea surface;
Conference_Titel :
Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2001. IGARSS '01. IEEE 2001 International
Conference_Location :
Sydney, NSW
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7031-7
DOI :
10.1109/IGARSS.2001.978158
