Paper
19 August 1993 NASA scatterometer (NSCAT) calibration philosophy and approach
Michael W. Spencer, Wu-Yang Tsai, Gregory Neumann, Simon H. Yueh
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
The NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) is scheduled for launch aboard the Japanese Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) in early 1996. The NSCAT instrument is a K(mu) -band radar which measures global ocean surface wind speeds and directions at 50 km resolution. The wind measurement is accomplished by first measuring the normalized backscatter cross section ((sigma) 0) of the ocean at three different azimuth angles and two different polarizations using eight fan-beam antennas. Wind vectors are then retrieved during ground data processing using an empirical geophysical model function which relates (sigma) 0 to wind speed and direction. The accuracy with which the ocean surface wind can be estimated is a sensitive function of the radiometric accuracy of the (sigma) 0 measurements. For this reason, NSCAT must be a highly calibrated and stable instrument. A considerable amount of effort has been invested by the NSCAT project in (1) analysis, to understand and quantify the effects of calibration errors on wind retrieval performance, and (2) the development of both a pre- and post-launch calibration approach to insure that (sigma) 0 measurement accuracy requirements are met. This paper summarizes these efforts and their resulting conclusions.
© (1993) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Michael W. Spencer, Wu-Yang Tsai, Gregory Neumann, and Simon H. Yueh "NASA scatterometer (NSCAT) calibration philosophy and approach", Proc. SPIE 1935, Microwave Instrumentation for Remote Sensing of the Earth, (19 August 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.152608
Lens.org Logo
CITATIONS
Cited by 2 scholarly publications.
Advertisement
Advertisement
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission  Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace
KEYWORDS
Calibration

Antennas

Receivers

Error analysis

Radar

Target detection

Backscatter

Back to Top