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Rodriguez, Ernesto

Publications and source records attributed to Rodriguez, Ernesto.

At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2002

The wide swath ocean altimeter: radar interferometry for global ocean mapping with centimetric accuracy

We have developed an instrument concept that combines a conventional nadir altimeter with a radar interferometer to meet the above requirements. In this paper, we describe the overall mission concept and the interferometric radar design. We also describe several new technology developments that facilitate the inclusion of this instrument on a small, inexpensive spacecraft bus. Those include ultra-light, deployable reflectarray antennas for the radar interferometer; a novel five frequency feed horn for the radiometer and altimeter; a lightweight, low power integrated three frequency radiometer; and a field programmable gate array-based onboard data processor. Finally, we discuss recent algorithm developments for the onboard date processing, and present the expected instatements performance improvements over previously reported results.

interferometry↗
NASA NTRS2001

The wide swath ocean altimeter: algorithm and technology developments for improved ocean topography measurements

The Wide Swath Ocean Altimeter (WSOA) is a recently proposed interferometric instrument that would provide nearly complete global ocean topography measurements from a single platform. Several new algorithm and technology developments improve the expected WSOA performance, and facilitate the feasibility of including WSOA on a next generation altimeter mission. Those developments are discussed in this paper.

interferometry↗
NASA NTRS1997

(abstract) Studies of Interferometric Penetration into Vegetation Canopies using Multifrequency Interferometry Data at JPL

Radar interferometric observations both from spaceborne and airborne platforms have been used to generate accurate topographic maps, measure milimeter level displacements from earthquakes and volcanoes, and for making land cover classification and land cover change maps. Interferometric observations have two basic measurements, interferometric phase, which depends upon the path difference between the two antennas and the correlation. One of the key questions concerning interferometric observations of vegetated regions is where in the canopy does the interferometric phase measure the height. Results for two methods of extracting tree heights and other vegetation parameters based upon the amount of volumetric decorrelation will be presented.

radar interferometry vegetation land cover↗
NASA NTRS1996

Single and Multiple Scattering Components of the Surface Current for Rough Surface Scattering

A method is presented for separating the single and multiple scattering contributions to the surface current which is valid up to the second order in perturbation theory. Using this method, numerical experiments are performed to determine the spectral characteristics of the surface current as a function of incidence angle and surface roughness for long random periodic gratings. It is shown that, as theincidence angle increases, the single scattering contribution shows a dependence on surface slope which is hot present in current perturbation theories.

perturbation theory Single Scattering Components M↗
NASA NTRS1996

Vector Along-Track Interferometry for Ocean Current mapping

We examine the feasibility of measuring Along-Track Interferometric (ATI) vector ocean velocities using the azimuth beamwidth of the SAR antenna to obtain angular diversity, at the expense of spatial resolution. A simple model of the measurement is introduced for point targets and moving ocean surfaces to help interpret the velocity measurements.

velocity measurements Along-Track Interferometric ↗
NASA NTRS1995

Estimation of penetration of forest canopies by Interferometric SAR measurements

In contrast to traditional Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), an Interferometric SAR (INSAR) yields two additional measurements: the phase difference and the correlation between the two interferometric channels. The phase difference has been used to estimate topographic height. For homogeneous surfaces, the correlation depends on the system signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio, the interferometer parameters, and the local slope. In the presence of volume scattering, such as that encountered in vegetation canopies, the correlation between the two channels is also dependent on the degree of penetration of the radiation into the scattering medium. In this paper, we propose a method for removing system and slope effects in order to obtain the decorrelation due to penetration alone. The sensitivities and accuracy of the proposed method are determined by Monte Carlo experiments, and we show that the proposed technique has sufficient sensitivity to provide penetration measurements for airborne SAR systems. Next, we provide a theoretical model to estimate the degree of penetration in a way which is independent of the details of the scattering medium. We also present a model for the correlation from non-homogeneous layers. We assess the sensitivity of the proposed inversion technique to these inhomogeneous situations. Finally, we present a comparison of the interferometric results against in situ data obtained by an airborne laser profilometer which provides a direct measurement of tree height and an estimate of the vegetation density profile in the forested areas around Mt. Adams, WA.

Rodriguez, Ernesto↗
NASA NTRS1994

Assessment of the TOPEX altimeter performance using waveform retracking

To assess the accuracy of the TOPEX altimeter data, we have reprocessed the raw altimeter waveform data using more sophisticated algorithms than those implemented in the altimeter hardware. We discuss systematic contamination of the waveform which we have observed and its effect on very long wavelength errors. We conclude that these systematic errors are responsible for a very long wavelength error whose peak-to-peak magnitude for the Ku band altimeter is of the order of 1 cm. We also examine the ability of retracked data to reduce the repeat pass variance and correct for significant wave height (SWH) and acceleration dependent errors. We find that the ground postprocessing contains SWH dependent biases which depend on the altimeter fine height correction.

Rodriguez, Ernesto↗
NASA NTRS1994

Estimation of the electromagnetic bias from retracked TOPEX data

We examine the electromagnetic (EM) bias by using retracked TOPEX altimeter data. In contrast to previous studies, we use a parameterization of the EM bias which does not make stringent assumptions about the form of the correction or its global behavior. We find that the most effective single parameter correction uses the altimeter-estimated wind speed but that other parameterizations, using a wave age related parameter of significant wave height, may also significantly reduce the repeat pass variance. The different corrections are compared, and their improvement of the TOPEX height variance is quantified.

Rodriguez, Ernesto↗
NASA NTRS1994

(abstract) Two-Dimensional Surface Current in the Coastal Environment Using Vector Along-Track Interferometry

The structure of surface currents in the coastal environment can be very complex as it is governed by a multitude of factors such as local bathymetry, sea state, etc. Knowledge of the structure of coastal currents is a key requirement in the ability to carry out safe maneuvers and landings in an unknown coastal situation. Furthermore, it is desirable to have the ability to obtain such information by remote sensing and in a timely manner. We present a remote sensing technique which has the potential to meet certain specific requisites. We will present a theoretical discussion of the measurement technique, then will demonstrate the technique using data previously acquired and compare the results against conventional along-track interferometric measurements.

coastal currents sea state remote sensing syntheti↗
NASA NTRS1994

The Accuracy of Airborne Interferometric SAR's

We extend the analysis of the accuracy of Interferometric SAR (InSAR) for topographic mapping to cover a variety of topics which have not been previously examined in the literature.

SAR interferometry interferometric SAR's InSAR top↗
NASA NTRS1993

Near grazing scattering from non-Gaussian ocean surfaces

We investigate the behavior of the scattered electromagnetic waves from non-Gaussian ocean surfaces at near grazing incidence. Even though the scattering mechanisms at moderate incidence angles are relatively well understood, the same is not true for near grazing rough surface scattering. However, from the experimental ocean scattering data, it has been observed that the backscattering cross section of a horizontally polarized wave can be as large as the vertical counterpart at near grazing incidence. In addition, these returns are highly intermittent in time. There have been some suggestions that these unexpected effects may come from shadowing or feature scattering. Using numerical scattering simulations, it can be shown that the horizontal backscattering cannot be larger than the vertical one for the Gaussian surfaces. Our main objective of this study is to gain a clear understanding of scattering mechanisms underlying the near grazing ocean scattering. In order to evaluate the backscattering cross section from ocean surfaces at near grazing incidence, both the hydrodynamic modeling of ocean surfaces and an accurate near grazing scattering theory are required. For the surface modeling, we generate Gaussian surfaces from the ocean surface power spectrum which is derived using several experimental data. Then, weakly nonlinear large scale ocean surfaces are generated following Longuet-Higgins. In addition, the modulation of small waves by large waves is included using the conservation of wave action. For surface scattering, we use MOM (Method of Moments) to calculate the backscattering from scattering patches with the two scale shadowing approximation. The differences between Gaussian and non-Gaussian surface scattering at near grazing incidence are presented.

Kim, Yunjin↗
NASA NTRS1993

Rough surface scattering from moving ocean surfaces as an indicator of scattering mechanisms

Ever since Crombie used the Doppler spectrum of RF signals scattered from the ocean surface to provide conclusive evidence for Bragg resonant scattering, scattering from the ocean surface has served as a testing ground for the identification of governing scattering mechanisms in rough surface scattering. The moving ocean surface has the advantage for rough surface scattering that, being a dispersive medium, features with different spatial scales the tendency to travel at different speeds. Thus, by looking at the temporal signature of the scattered field, one can try to isolate the scattering mechanism. This feature has been exploited by various authors. To give a recent example, we cite the work of Plant, who examined the Doppler spectrum of the return signal to infer the presence of two-scale scattering in scattering at medium incidence angles. The problem with restricting oneself to the examination of the Doppler spectrum, as has been done traditionally, is that one restricts the phenomena under investigation to temporally homogeneous phenomena: transient phenomena, which are localized in time, are not localized in frequency space. There is increasing evidence that this type of phenomena, due to specular scattering or breaking waves, may also play an important role in determining the scattering mechanism in ocean-like surfaces. To overcome this problem, we introduce the use of the Wavelet Transform to study the frequency-temporal signatures of the scattered field from moving ocean waves. We calculate this signature using various analytic scattering theories and show that the Wavelet Transform provides a useful tool for separating the different scattering mechanisms operating in scattering in ocean-like surfaces. Next we simulate realistic nonlinear moving ocean waves and calculate the temporal scattered field signature by using the method of moments and the stop-start approximation: the surface is assumed stationary during a scattering event, but moves between incident EM pulses. We compute and compare the Doppler frequency spectrum and the Wavelet Transform of the resulting signal for various types of surfaces and show how different scattering mechanisms may be isolated by this technique. Finally, we compare these numerical results against the analytical predictions in order to obtain the domain of applicability of various scattering theories for moving ocean surfaces which may include wave breaking and specular glints.

Rodriguez, Ernesto↗
NASA NTRS1992

A numerical assessment of rough surface scattering theories. I - Horizontal polarization. II - Vertical polarization

A numerical evaluation is presented of the regime of validity for various rough surface scattering theories against numerical results obtained by employing the method of moments. The contribution of each theory is considered up to second order in the perturbation expansion for the surface current. Considering both vertical and horizontal polarizations, the unified perturbation method provides best results among all theories weighed.

Rodriguez, Ernesto↗
NASA NTRS1992

Comparison of the Unified Perturbation Method with the two-scale expansion

The Unified Perturbation Method (UPM) converges faster over a wider domain of surface roughness than other perturbations, such as the small perturbation method, the phase perturbation method, the Kirchhoff approximation, and the momentum transfer expansion. It can be shown that UPM intrinsically possess characteristics similar to the two-scale expansion without requiring a free parameter. This paper considers whether the UPM can be improved by applying the two-scale concept to the method. In order to do so, the unknown source current is expanded in a two-scale manner starting from the extinction theorem. Several two-scale expansions are derived and are compared with the conventional two-scale approximation. It is shown that the UPM performs best without two-scale expansions.

Kim, Yunjin↗
NASA NTRS1992

The effect of small-wave modulation on the electromagnetic bias

The effect of the modulation of small ocean waves by large waves on the physical mechanism of the EM bias is examined by conducting a numerical scattering experiment which does not assume the applicability of geometric optics. The modulation effect of the large waves on the small waves is modeled using the principle of conservation of wave action and includes the modulation of gravity-capillary waves. The frequency dependence and magnitude of the EM bias is examined for a simplified ocean spectral model as a function of wind speed. These calculations make it possible to assess the validity of previous assumptions made in the theory of the EM bias, with respect to both scattering and hydrodynamic effects. It is found that the geometric optics approximation is inadequate for predictions of the EM bias at typical radar altimeter frequencies, while the improved scattering calculations provide a frequency dependence of the EM bias which is in qualitative agreement with observation. For typical wind speeds, the EM bias contribution due to small-wave modulation is of the same order as that due to modulation by the nonlinearities of the large-scale waves.

Rodriguez, Ernesto↗