IMAGING SIMULATION OF THE MICROWAVE RADIOMETER ABOARD THE MICAP FOR SEA SURFACE SALINITY MEASUREMENT

摘要: Sea surface salinity as an ocean variable plays an important role in various components of the water and energy cycle. Recently a Chinese space mission using a new concept of Microwave Imager Combined Active and Passive (MICAP) at L-band is proposed for the ocean salinity measurement. MICAP uses interferometric techniques for both the radiometer and the scatterometer, which adopt two kinds of linear array feeds sharing one 3x4.5 m parabolic cylinder reflector. This paper is focused on the microwave interferometric radiometer (MIR) aboard the MICAP, and discusses the imaging simulation, imaging algorithm, and instrument performance.