Date of Award
12-2016
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics
Department
Aeronautics and Astronautics
First Advisor
James Garrison
Committee Chair
James Garrison
Committee Member 1
Arthur Frazho
Committee Member 2
Rashmi Shah
Abstract
Snow and ice processes are a critical part of the Earth’s hydrological and climate cycles. These processes can serve as an important source of fresh water as well as a cause of flooding. Various missions have been proposed by NASA and ESA for the purpose of remote sensing of snow. This research looks at applying bistatic radar reflectometry to the remote sensing of snow water equivalent. The resulting phase offset from changes in optical path length due to reflection through snow are the primary measurements made. The research uses data from a field campaign in Fraser, CO, involving an instrument collecting direct and reflected from S band during Jan 2015 – Apr 2015. Phase measurements from the field data are made from the two signals and compared to theoretical phase computed from a forward model using in situ data. A moderate correlation (>0.6) is found between the measured and modeled phase.
Recommended Citation
Komanduru, Abi, "Remote sensing of snow using bistatic radar reflectometry" (2016). Open Access Theses. 864.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_theses/864