Bringing Space Technology Closer to home
Passive L-band radiometry was developed as an earth observation space technology. The TerraRad radiometer brings the benefits of L-band closer to home.
Use cases in the aerospace and earth observation sectors include…
ground validation for satellite instruments
Development of retrieval algorithms
Training data for machine learning
Satellite-based l-band radiometry
The European Space Agency (ESA) Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite and the NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite instruments use the same passive L-band microwave technology as the TerraRad Tech radiometer. These satellites provide global maps of soil moisture and vegetation optical depth (L-VOD). Data from these satellites provide invaluable contributions to global weather forecasts and climate predictions. (ESA – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0)
Ground- and tower-based radiometers for time series and algorithm development
From the Amazon rain-forest to the arid regions of Spain, ground-based TerraRad Tech radiometers are contributing to our understanding of the planet’s biomass and the global carbon cycle. Improving satellite retrievals of organic soils and helping to validate the relationship between biomass and vegetation optical depth (L-VOD), our systems are on the front lines in the battle against climate change.
Providing high resolution sub-satellite-pixel measurements
Pixels measured by satellite-borne L-band radiometers are on the order of 25 km. The TerraRad Tech drone-based radiometer can provide pixel size down to 6 m. When satellites view pixels on the earth with mixed types (such as water, soil, frozen soil, snow, ice, etc.), it can be difficult to obtain accurate retrievals. Measurements of sub-satellite resolution L-band brightness temperatures will help to improve satellite retrieval algorithms, specifically over mixed pixels.
The image on the left shows global land cover classification. The TerraRad drone-based radiometer can help to improve satellite retrievals of soil moisture and vegetation optical depth (VOD) over pixels containing multiple land cover types.
Can I get some more information?
Please get in touch for more details on agriculture applications from TerraRad Tech