Title :
Passive calibration of the backscattering coefficient of the ENVISAT RA-2: evaluation of radiative models for sea and land
Author :
Pierdicca, N. ; Castracane, P. ; Pulvirenti, L. ; Greco, B. ; Ferrazzoli, P. ; Guerriero, L. ; Schiavon, G. ; Ciotti, P. ; Marzano, F.S. ; Bernardini, L. ; Basili, P. ; Bonafoni, S. ; Mattioli, V.
Author_Institution :
Dipt. di Ingegneria Elettronica, Univ. di Roma, Italy
Abstract :
The passive calibration of the radar altimeter consists in characterising the receiver by observing natural surfaces with known emission in the so-called noise-sensing mode. The paper focuses on the general approach undertaken to simulate the brightness temperature at the top of the atmosphere observed by the Envisat Radar Altimeter (RA-2). It is based on emissivity models for land and sea as well as atmospheric radiation models supported by a continuous flow of on-line data used as model inputs.
Keywords :
calibration; geophysical equipment; geophysical techniques; oceanographic equipment; oceanographic techniques; radar equipment; remote sensing by radar; spaceborne radar; synthetic aperture radar; terrain mapping; ENVISAT RA-2; Envisat; Radar Altimeter 2; backscattering coefficient; emissivity; geophysical measurement technique; land surface; noise-sensing mode; ocean; passive calibration; radar remote sensing; radiative model; sea level; sea surface; spaceborne radar; terrain mapping; Atmospheric modeling; Backscatter; Brightness temperature; Calibration; Equations; Extraterrestrial measurements; Frequency; Radiometers; Sea measurements; Spaceborne radar;
Conference_Titel :
Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2002. IGARSS '02. 2002 IEEE International
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7536-X
DOI :
10.1109/IGARSS.2002.1027099
