Ground calibration of SMOS: NIR and CAS

Ground calibration of the calibration subsystems of MIRAS (Microwave Imaging Radiometer using Aperture Synthesis) has been performed. The MIRAS instrument is the payload of European Space Agency's (ESA) Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission. The calibration subsystems are Calibration Subsystem (CAS), which is a noise distribution network, and Noise Injection Radiometer (NIR), which measures the noise levels of CAS and the average incident brightness temperature. This paper presents the used measurement approaches, related uncertainties, and the calibration results for the NIR and CAS. The results show that in spite of uncertainties, the characterization methods allow accurate ground calibration of the two subsystems. The performance of both subsystems meet the requirements.

[1]  Adriano Camps,et al.  Analysis of noise-injection networks for interferometric-radiometer calibration , 2000 .

[2]  Adriano Camps,et al.  The visibility function in interferometric aperture synthesis radiometry , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[3]  Adriano Camps,et al.  MIRAS In-Orbit Calibration , 2007, 2007 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[4]  Niels Skou.  Microwave radiometer linearity measured by simple means , 2002, IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[5]  Richard K. Moore,et al.  Microwave Remote Sensing - Active and Passive - Volume I - Microwave Remote Sensing Fundamentals and Radiometry , 1981 .

[6]  Manuel Martín-Neira,et al.  MIRAS end-to-end calibration: application to SMOS L1 processor , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[7]  Martti Hallikainen,et al.  SMOS Calibration Subsystem , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[8]  Bruce M. Kendall,et al.  Measurement of ocean temperature and salinity via microwave radiometry , 1978 .

[9]  Andrés Borges.  Design and technical implementation of MIRAS payload , 2007, 2007 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[10]  Martti Hallikainen,et al.  Development and Calibration of SMOS Reference Radiometer , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[11]  Martti Hallikainen,et al.  MIRAS reference radiometer: a fully polarimetric noise injection radiometer , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[12]  Yann Kerr,et al.  Soil moisture retrieval from space: the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission , 2001, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[13]  Adriano Camps,et al.  On-board phase and modulus calibration of large aperture synthesis radiometers: study applied to MIRAS , 1996, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[14]  Alan B. Tanner,et al.  Calibration of a synthetic aperture radiometer , 1993, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[15]  Fawwaz T. Ulaby,et al.  Improvement of Moisture Estimation Accuracy of Vegetation-Covered Soil by Combined Active/Passive Microwave Remote Sensing , 1983, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[16]  Martti Hallikainen,et al.  Calibration of End-to-End Phase Imbalance of Polarimetric Radiometers , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[17]  Camps Carmona,et al.  Aplication of Interferometric Radiometry to Earth Observation , 1996 .

[18]  Manuel Martín-Neira,et al.  The SmoS payload : mirAS , 2009 .

[19]  Adriano Camps,et al.  The determination of surface salinity with the European SMOS space mission , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[20]  J. Lahtinen,et al.  Reference Radiometer of SMOS: Development and Calibration , 2006, 2006 IEEE International Symposium on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[21]  C. Ruf,et al.  Interferometric synthetic aperture microwave radiometry for the remote sensing of the Earth , 1988 .

[22]  Thomas Schmugge,et al.  Passive Microwave Soil Moisture Research , 1986, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[23]  M. Martin-Neira,et al.  Ocean salinity observations with SMOS mission , 2000, IGARSS 2000. IEEE 2000 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. Taking the Pulse of the Planet: The Role of Remote Sensing in Managing the Environment. Proceedings (Cat. No.00CH37120).