1. Microwave Remote Sensing
Chris Allen
Course website URL people.eecs.ku.edu/~callen/823/EECS823.htm

2. Outline Syllabus Introductions What to expect First assignment
Instructor information, course description, prerequisites
Textbook, reference books, grading, course outline
Preliminary schedule
Introductions
What to expect
First assignment
Microwave remote sensing background
Microwave remote sensing compared to optical remote sensing
Overview of radar
Microwave scattering properties
Radiometry principles and example

3. Syllabus Prof. Chris Allen Course description
Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from KU 1984
10 years industry experience
Sandia National Labs, Albuquerque, NM
AlliedSignal, Kansas City Plant, Kansas City, MO
Phone:
Office: 3024 Eaton Hall
Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00 to 10:45 am
Course description
Description and analysis of basic microwave remote sensing systems including radars and radiometers as well as the scattering and emission properties of natural targets. Topics covered include plane wave propagation, antennas, radiometers, atmospheric effects, radars, calibrated systems, and remote sensing applications.

4. Syllabus Prerequisites Textbook
Introductory course on electromagnetics (e.g., EECS 420 or 720)
Introductory course on RF transmission systems (e.g., EECS 622)
Textbook
Microwave Radar and Radiometric Remote Sensing
by F.T. Ulaby, D.G. Long
University of Michigan Press, 2013, ISBN pages
This is a new textbook that contains what was previously available in the Volume I of the Microwave Remote Sensing series.

5. Syllabus Reference books
Microwave Remote Sensing: Active and Passive, Volume I: Microwave remote sensing fundamentals and radiometry
by F. Ulaby, R. Moore, A. Fung
Addison-Wesley, 1981, ISBN
Unfortunately this textbook is out of print and is only available in the used book market.
Unfortunately this textbook is out of print and is only available in the used book market.
Nice-quality, affordable copies were available through the KU bookstore but no longer.

6. Syllabus Reference books
Microwave Remote Sensing, Vol. II by F. Ulaby, R. Moore, A. Fung Addison-Wesley, 1982, ISBN
Microwave Remote Sensing, Vol. III by F. Ulaby, R. Moore, A. Fung Artech House, 1986, ISBN

7. Grades and course policies
The following factors will be used to arrive at the final course grade:
Homework, quizzes, and class participation 40 % Research project 20 % Final exam 40 %
Grades will be assigned to the following scale:
A % B % C % D % F < 60 %
These are guaranteed maximum scales and may be revised downward at the instructor's discretion.
Read the policies regarding homework, exams, ethics, and plagiarism.

8. Course Outline (subject to change)
Preliminary schedule
Course Outline (subject to change)
Introductory material 1 week (overview, expectations, review of complex math)
Plane wave propagation, reflection, refraction, and attenuation 1 week (conductive media, layered media, Riccati equation)
Antenna systems in microwave remote sensing 2 weeks (antenna concepts, arrays)
Passive microwave remote sensing and radiometry 2 weeks (brightness temperature and emissivity)
Microwave interaction with the atmosphere 2 weeks (physical properties, precipitation effects)
Radiometer systems 1 week (system noise, Dicke radiometer)
Radar systems 2 weeks (range equation, Doppler effects, fading)
Calibrated systems and scattering measurements 1 week
(internal/external calibration, measurement precision)
Scattering and emission from natural targets 2 weeks
(surface scatter, volume scatter, the sea, ice, snow, vegetation)
Microwave remote sensing applications (guest lecturers) 1 week
(sea ice, oceans, vegetation, etc.)

9. Fall 2018 Class Meeting Schedule
Preliminary schedule
Fall 2018 Class Meeting Schedule
August: 21, 23, 28, 30
September: 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, 27
October: 2, 4, 9, 11, (16th is Fall Break), 18, 23, 25, 30
November: 1, 6, 8, 13, 15, 17, 20, (22nd is Thanksgiving), 27, 29
December: 4, 6
Final exam scheduled for Thursday, December 13 10:30 to 1:00 p.m.

10. Introductions Name Major Specialty
What you hope to get from of this experience
(Not asking what grade you are aiming for )

11. What to expect Course is being webcast, therefore …
Most presentation material will be in PowerPoint format 
Presentations will be recorded and archived (for duration of semester)
Student interaction is encouraged
Remote students must activate microphone before speaking
Please disable microphone when finished
Homework assignments will be posted on website
Electronic homework submission logistics to be worked out
We may have guest lecturers later in the semester
To break the monotony, we’ll try to take a couple of 2-minute breaks during each session (roughly every 15 to 20 min)

12. Course coverage areas

13. Course coverage areas Course will focus on
electromagnetic propagation & scattering
antennas
atmospheric effects
radiometry and radiometers

14. Your first assignment
Send me an (from the account you check most often)
To:
Subject line: Your name – 823
Tell me a little about yourself
Attach your ARTS form (or equivalent)
ARTS: Academic Requirements Tracking System
Its basically an unofficial academic record
I use this to get a sense of what academic experiences you’ve had

15. Microwave remote sensing background
Optical remote sensing has been around a long time
Uses the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum
Instrumentation includes the human eye, cameras, telescopes
Has problems with clouds, rain, fog, snow, smoke, smog, etc.
Cannot penetrate soil, vegetation, snowpack, ice
Relies on ambient light sources (e.g., sunlight)
Microwave remote sensing is less than 100 years old
Uses the microwave and RF parts of the spectrum
Instrumentation includes radars and radiometers
Is largely immune to clouds, precipitation, smoke, etc.
Penetrates sand, soil, rock, vegetation, dry snow, ice, etc.
Does not rely on sunlight – radar provides its own illumination, radiometers use the target’s thermal emission
Data from microwave sensors complement data from optical sensors

16. Microwave remote sensing background
Whereas shorter wavelengths (e.g., optical and infrared) provide information on the upper layers of vegetation, the longer wavelengths of microwave and RF signals penetrate deeper into the canopy and substructure providing additional information.
Visible wavelengths 400 to 700 nm
Infrared wavelengths 700 nm to 1 mm
Microwave wavelengths 1 mm to 30 cm
Radio wavelengths > 30 cm

17. Microwave remote sensing background
A brief overview of radar
Radar – radio detection and ranging
Developed in the early 1900s (pre-World War II)
1904 Europeans demonstrated use for detecting ships in fog
1922 U.S. Navy Research Laboratory (NRL) detected wooden ship on Potomac River
1930 NRL engineers detected an aircraft with simple radar system
World War II accelerated radar’s development
Radar had a significant impact militarily
Called “The Invention That Changed The World” in two books by Robert Buderi
Radar’s has deep military roots
It continues to be important militarily
Growing number of civil applications
Objects often called ‘targets’ even civil applications

18. Microwave remote sensing background
A brief overview of radar
Uses electromagnetic (EM) waves
Frequencies in the MHz, GHz, THz Shares spectrum with FM, TV, GPS, cell phones, wireless technologies, satellite communications
Governed by Maxwell’s equations
Signals propagate at the speed of light
Antennas or optics used to launch/receive waves
Related technologies use acoustic waves
Ultrasound, seismics, sonar Microphones, accelerometers, hydrophones used as transducers

19. Microwave remote sensing background
A brief overview of radar
Active sensor
Provides its own illumination Operates in day and night Largely immune to smoke, haze, fog, rain, snow, …
Involves both a transmitter and a receiver
Related technologies are purely passive
Radio astronomy, radiometers
Configurations
Monostatic transmitter and receiver co-located
Bistatic transmitter and receiver separated
Multistatic multiple transmitters and/or receivers
Passive exploits non-cooperative illuminator
Radar image of Venus

20. Microwave remote sensing background
A brief overview of radar
Various classes of operation
Pulsed vs. continuous wave (CW)
Coherent vs. incoherent
Measurement capabilities
Detection, Ranging
Position (range and direction), Radial velocity (Doppler)
Target characteristics (radar cross section – RCS)
Mapping, Change detection

21. Microwave remote sensing background
Microwave scattering properties reveal target characteristics
Backscattering from precipitation depends strongly on particle diameter enabling a mapping of precipitation rates using radar data.

22. Microwave remote sensing background
Radiometry principles
Materials above 0 K emit electromagnetic radiation that follows a well-defined pattern. This radiation can be measured at a variety of frequencies and polarizations. Analysis of the measured emission characteristics reveal properties about the scene.

23. Microwave remote sensing background
Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument was launched aboard NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua Satellite on 4 May The AMSR-E is a twelve-channel, six-frequency, conically-scanning, passive-microwave radiometer system. It measures horizontally and vertically polarized microwave radiation (brightness temperatures) ranging from 6.9 GHz to 89.0 GHz. Spatial resolution of the individual measurements varies from 5.4 km at 89 GHz to 56 km at 6.9 GHz.