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","Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (M.S.E.E.)","College of Engineering and Computer Science","Electrical Engineering and Computer Science","Electrical Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This research concerns the CONAE Microwave Radiometer (MWR), on board the Aquarius/SAC-D platform. MWR's main purpose is to provide measurements that are simultaneous and spatially collocated with those of NASA's Aquarius radiometer/scatterometer. For this reason, knowledge of the MWR antenna beam footprint geolocation is crucial to mission success. In particular, this thesis addresses an on-orbit validation of the MWR antenna beam pointing, using calculated MWR instantaneous field of view (IFOV) centers, provided in the CONAE L-1B science data product. This procedure compares L-1B MWR IFOV centers at land/water crossings against high-resolution coastline maps. MWR IFOV locations versus time are computed from knowledge of the satellite's instantaneous location relative to an earth-centric coordinate system (provided by on-board GPS receivers), and a priori measurements of antenna gain patterns and mounting geometry. Previous conical scanning microwave radiometer missions (e.g., SSM/I) have utilized observation of rapid change in brightness temperatures (T_B) to estimate the location of land/water boundaries, and subsequently to determine the antenna beam-pointing accuracy. In this thesis, results of an algorithm to quantify the geolocation error of MWR beam center are presented, based upon two-dimensional convolution between each beam's gain pattern and land-water transition. The analysis procedures have been applied to on-orbit datasets that represent land-water boundaries bearing specific desirable criteria, which are also detailed herein. The goal of this research is to gain a better understanding of satellite radiometer beam-pointing error and thereby to improve the geolocation accuracy for MWR science data products."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Microwave Radiometer (MWR) Evaluation of Multi-Beam Satellite Antenna Boresight Pointing Using Land-Water Crossings, for the Aquarius/SAC-D Mission"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jones, W. Linwood"],"dc:creator":["Clymer, Bradley"],"dc:description":["If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu
","Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (M.S.E.E.)","College of Engineering and Computer Science","Electrical Engineering and Computer Science","Electrical Engineering"],"dc:description.abstract":["This research concerns the CONAE Microwave Radiometer (MWR), on board the Aquarius/SAC-D platform. MWR's main purpose is to provide measurements that are simultaneous and spatially collocated with those of NASA's Aquarius radiometer/scatterometer. For this reason, knowledge of the MWR antenna beam footprint geolocation is crucial to mission success. In particular, this thesis addresses an on-orbit validation of the MWR antenna beam pointing, using calculated MWR instantaneous field of view (IFOV) centers, provided in the CONAE L-1B science data product. This procedure compares L-1B MWR IFOV centers at land/water crossings against high-resolution coastline maps. MWR IFOV locations versus time are computed from knowledge of the satellite's instantaneous location relative to an earth-centric coordinate system (provided by on-board GPS receivers), and a priori measurements of antenna gain patterns and mounting geometry. Previous conical scanning microwave radiometer missions (e.g., SSM/I) have utilized observation of rapid change in brightness temperatures (T_B) to estimate the location of land/water boundaries, and subsequently to determine the antenna beam-pointing accuracy. In this thesis, results of an algorithm to quantify the geolocation error of MWR beam center are presented, based upon two-dimensional convolution between each beam's gain pattern and land-water transition. The analysis procedures have been applied to on-orbit datasets that represent land-water boundaries bearing specific desirable criteria, which are also detailed herein. The goal of this research is to gain a better understanding of satellite radiometer beam-pointing error and thereby to improve the geolocation accuracy for MWR science data products."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["CFE0005591"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/63"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:subject":["Microwave radiometry","passive microwave remote sensing","calibration","geolocation","Electrical and Computer Engineering","Electrical and Electronics","Engineering"],"dc:title":["Microwave Radiometer (MWR) Evaluation of Multi-Beam Satellite Antenna Boresight Pointing Using Land-Water Crossings, for the Aquarius/SAC-D Mission"],"dc:type":["Masters Thesis (Open Access)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:08:08Z"}