Space-Based Microwave Remote Sensing



(https://ceosr.science.gmu.edu/microwave-remote-sensing-group/)
EECS 498-013: Space-Based Microwave Remote Sensing
Leland Pierce (lep@umich.edu)
Lecture MW 3-4:30PM, 3 credits
PreReq: EECS230 or equivalent (Physics 240)
Upper-Level EE Elective, or Flexible Technical Elective

Overview

This new course introduces the technology behind many of the space-based remote sensing instruments now in Earth orbit. Learn how to build your own sensors to determine properties of the Earth, such as soil moisture, air temperature and humidity, ocean currents, and many others that are key to understanding our planet's ecology and climate. The class involves two 80-minute lectures per week, homework, and exams. Topics include:
  • Wireless propagation
  • How to design and build an analog radio system
  • How radar interacts with the atmosphere, water, land, and vegetation
  • Detection of the natural microwave emission from water, land, and vegetation
  • Radar interferometry to map elevation and elevation changes

Textbook


The textbook we are using is:
Microwave Radar and Radiometric Remote Sensing, Ulaby and Long, Artech, 2015. ISBN: 9780472119356.
There is a book-specific website that can also help the student with the book content at: https://mrs.eecs.umich.edu

Format

The class consists of 2 80-minute lectures per week, with homework, exams, and a final.

Outline

  1. Intro, logistics (MRS:ch1)
    radar, radiometry, examples
  2. Plane waves (MRS:2.1-2.3)
    electromagnetics review, time-harmonic fields, propagation (lossless media), polarization
  3. Plane Waves, contin (MRS:2.4-2.5)
    propagation (lossy media), power density
  4. plane wave reflection/transmission (MRS:2.6-2.10)
    normal incidence
  5. Plane wave reflection/transmission (MRS:2.7-2.10)
    oblique incidence, reflectivity, transmissivity, lossy medium, 2-layer composite
  6. Antennas (MRS:3.1-3.3)
    herztian dipole, antenna characteristics, friis
  7. antennas, contin (MRS:3.4-3.13)
    large aperture, uniform aperture field, arrays, steering, active antennas
  8. Materials (MRS:ch4)
    modeling, models for water, ice, snow, rock, soil, veg
  9. Radar Scattering (MRS:ch5.1-5.5)
    scattering matrix, radar eqn, distrib targets
  10. scattering, contin (MRS:ch5.6-5.13)
    fading, mitigation, texture, despeckling, coherent vs. non-coherent, polarimetric, polarization synthesis
  11. microwave radiometry (MRS:ch6.1-6.5)
    definitions, thermal radiation, brightness temperature: Tb, hardware issues
  12. radiometry, contin (MRS: ch6.6-6.10)
    radiative transfer, terrain models, polarimetry
  13. microwave radiometry systems (MRS:ch7.1-7.10)
    noise, radiometric accuracy, resolution, dicke radiometer
  14. radiometry systems, contin (MRS:7.11-7.16)
    calibration, imaging, polarimetric
  15. Atmosphere (MRS:ch8, ch9)
    (MRS: skip 8.9, 8.11, 9.2, 9.3.3,9.3.4,9.3.5,9.3.7, 9.6, 9.7, 9.8, 9.11, 9.12, 9.13) composition, absorption spectrum, emission, effects of clouds, rain, etc, Radiometric Atmospheric sounding: forward model, inversion, temperature, water vapor
  16. Surface scattering (MRS:ch10)
    rough surface models, inversion, soil moisture
  17. Volume scattg (MRS:ch11.1-11.8)
    heuristic models, rayleigh, radiative transfer model, radiative transfer inversion, radar models of veg scattg
  18. Volume Scattering, contin (MRS:ch11.9-11.16)
    soil moisture estimation, trees, mimics, raco, snow
  19. emission models (MRS:12.1-12.7)
    emissivity, rough surf models, radiative xfer: veg over ground, ZRT model
  20. emission models, contin (MRS:12.8-12.13)
    moisture: soil, veg, snow, ice, missions, snow over ground, coherent/non-coherent, lake ice
  21. Radars (MRS: 13.1-13.8)
    cw, pulsed, resolution, FM chirp, matched filtering, precision
  22. Radar contin. (MRS:13.9-13.16)
    ambiguity, calibration, GNSS-R
  23. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) (MRS:14.1-14.6)
    SLAR, SAR, resolution, ambiguity, power
  24. SAR,contin (MRS:14.7-14.12)
    system design, speckle, processing intro: raw to image, geometric distortions, inferring elevation, ionosphere effects
  25. Interferometric SAR (INSAR) (MRS:15.1-15.4)
    Phase, precision, SNR, forming interferogram
  26. Interferometric SAR (INSAR), contin (MRS:15.5-15.7)
    decorrelation, phase unwrapping, Shuttle Radar Toppography Mission (SRTM)
  27. Interferometric SAR (INSAR), contin (MRS: 15.8-15.11)
    along-track interferometry, Differential INSAR, time-series insar

    28.