Abstract
Weather forecast using GNSS-R relies, to a large extent, on data acquired by airborne and spaceborne platforms due to the extended coverage that can be achieved. GEO satellites can retrieve measurements over large areas but with spatial resolutions on the order of thousands of meters per pixel. LEO satellites with polar orbits can provide measurements over the entire world, but they cannot provide good spatial or high temporal resolutions by themselves. LEO constellations of small satellites have the same coverage with improved spatial resolution and revisit times by using data fusion techniques. High-altitude pseudo-satellites offer an excellent temporal and spatial resolution but only over limited areas. In this article, the potential of using hosted GNSS-R payloads on commercial aircraft is explored as an alternative and cost-effective means to achieve a very high resolution and a very low revisit time for regional environmental applications. Finally, a case study of soil moisture monitoring over Europe is presented, including an analysis of the expected performance.
Highlights
G NSS-R [1] is a growing remote sensing technique, and its applications have been proven from ground-based equipment, airborne instruments, and satellites
It is important to note that most of the areas over land not shown in the density map do have planes flying over them, but as no ADS-B receivers from the used data provider are in range, no information was reported
Several key areas that involve the main applications of GNSSreflectometry have been presented and analyzed under the hypothesis of a fleet of airborne GNSS-R instruments, showcasing the benefits of this deployment in multiple fields
Summary
G NSS-R [1] is a growing remote sensing technique, and its applications have been proven from ground-based equipment, airborne instruments, and satellites. Ground-based instruments have been broadly used to develop and validate models, technologies, and to provide periodic measurements over the same area. These types of sensors lack the versatility of mobile ones, such as the capability to take measurements from different areas. This technology has been proven to work in five space-based missions: U.K.-DMC [2], TDS-1 [3], [4], CYGNSS [5]–[7], Manuscript received December 31, 2020; revised March 2, 2021 and April 22, 2021; accepted April 24, 2021.
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