The Esa Wideband Microwave Scatterometer (Wbscat): Design and Implementation

WBSCAT is a new terrestrial 1-40 GHz polarimetric scatterometer. This instrument, built for the European Space Agency, with additional support from ETH WSL, is currently an element of the ESA SnowLab project for continuous microwave measurements of snowpack in Davos-Laret Switzerland. WBSCAT is based on a compact Vector Network Analyzer (VNA), combined with calibration standards and low-noise amplifiers to increase sensitivity. A pan/tilt positioner provides the angular and spatial diversity required for measurement of radar cross-section, 3D tomographic imaging, and measurements of interferometric coherence. The instrument can apply angular diversity and aperture synthesis to increase radiometric accuracy and suppress clutter. In Davos-Laret, WBSCAT is suspended from a 2.2-meter linear rail positioner that provides additional spatial diversity for high-resolution 3D tomographic imaging.