Keywords

Remote Sensing, QRad, QuikSCAT, SeaWinds, WindSat, and RTM

Abstract

After the launch of NASA's SeaWinds scatterometer in 1999, a radiometer function was implemented in the Science Ground Data Processing Systems to allow the measurement of the earth's microwave brightness temperature. This dissertation presents results of a comprehensive validation to assess the quality of QRad brightness temperature measurements using near-simultaneous ocean Tb comparisons between the SeaWinds on QuikSCAT (QRad) and WindSat polarimetric radiometer on Coriolis. WindSat was selected because it is a well calibrated radiometer that has many suitable collocations with QuikSCAT; and it has a 10.7 GHz channel, which is close to QRad frequency of 13.4 GHz. Brightness temperature normalizations were made for WindSat before comparison to account for expected differences in Tb with QRad because of incidence angle and channel frequency differences. Brightness temperatures for nine months during 2005 and 2006 were spatially collocated for rain-free homogeneous ocean scenes (match-ups) within 1° latitude x longitude boxes and within a ± 60 minute window. To ensure high quality comparison, these collocations were quality controlled and edited to remove non-homogenous ocean scenes and/or transient environmental conditions, including rain contamination. WindSat and QRad Tb's were averaged within 1° boxes and these were used for the radiometric inter-calibration analysis on a monthly basis. Results show that QRad calibrations are stable in the mean within ± 2K over the yearly seasonal cycle.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2009

Advisor

Jones, W. Linwood

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Degree Program

Electrical Engineering

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0002820

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002820

Language

English

Release Date

September 2009

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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