Processing of Raw GNSS Reflectometry Data From TDS-1 in a Backscattering Configuration

• Published in: IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
• Main Authors: Lucinda S. King, Martin Unwin, Jonathan Rawlinson, Raffaella Guida, Craig Underwood
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 2020
• Subjects: GNSS reflectometry; microwave reflectometry; radar data processing; radar scattering; radar target recognition; sea ice; Ocean engineering; TC1501-1800; Geophysics. Cosmic physics; QC801-809; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2020.2997199; https://doaj.org/article/e01422dc54c64deb841063881ae62ddc

Global navigation satellite system reflectometry (GNSS-R) has found many applications in the field of Earth observation including ocean wind-speed detection, ice altimetry, soil moisture monitoring, and more. The main focus of GNSS-R research to date has been on forward-scattered reflections, but theoretical work has proposed a backscattering regime and associated new application opportunities, including marine target detection. This article discusses the methods and results of processing the U.K. TechDemoSat-1 raw data collections in a backscattering regime for the first time, with initial results from sea ice datasets presented. The research has also identified a key problem with the backscatter method-for certain geometries the power from the specular point (forward scattered) may contaminate the data. The theory behind this and a method for predicting such occurrences is also discussed.