Microwave Radiometry Construction, Measurement and Analysis

"This book begins by describing the construction of microwave radiometers at frequencies between 4 and 22 GHz using low cost components acquired from the Internet. The design is based on the lock-in amplifier approach developed by Dr. Robert Dicke in the 1940's. An historic picture of Dicke taking sky measurements using one of his radiometers is shown in the top-left (Figure 41 on page 64). Although microwave technology has advanced considerably, Dicke's basic design hasn't changed...
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"This book begins by describing the construction of microwave radiometers at frequencies between 4 and 22 GHz using low cost components acquired from the Internet. The design is based on the lock-in amplifier approach developed by Dr. Robert Dicke in the 1940's. An historic picture of Dicke taking sky measurements using one of his radiometers is shown in the top-left (Figure 41 on page 64). Although microwave technology has advanced considerably, Dicke's basic design hasn't changed much. The radiometers described in this book were used to observe some well known atmospheric and surface features using far field measurements. Also discussed are less understood and more challenging issues pertaining to radiometer calibration and surface emissivity determination using near field measurements. The book ends with three chapters on satellite microwave radiometers. These chapters describe the history and measurements which played a large part in establishing the role of microwave radiometry in earth remote sensing. Examples also reveal unresolved observations that need to be better analyzed and understood after years of launching new satellite instruments. In addition to describing the radiometers and measurements, analytical models are developed to help bridge the gap between observations and their physical interpretation. As such, this book should be of interest to those studying microwave radiometry and its use in remote sensing of the earth's atmosphere and surface. Dr. Norman Grody began his study of microwave radiometry when working at NASA in 1971 at the time when they first began launching experimental instruments on satellites to view earth from space. He then joined NOAA in 1972 working on more advanced radiometers developed by the Air Force, Navy, NASA and NOAA. Until his retirement from NOAA in 2005 he was responsible for evaluating the performance of satellite microwave radiometers and developing algorithms to derive surface and atmospheric parameters from the measurements. These parameters such as temperature, water vapor, rain rate, snow cover, sea ice and sea surface winds are used by various organizations to monitor, analyze and forecast the global weather and climate. The top-right picture (Figure 68 on page 98) shows an example of global.