A Cost-Effective Portable L-Band Radiometer for Drone and Ground-Based Applications

We introduce a recently developed cost effective, low mass, portable L-band radiometer for aerial applications on drones or for ground-based applications. The radiometer has been tested on a multicopter drone and for a winter seasons measuring snow at the Davos-Laret Remote Sensing Field Site in Switzerland. The radiometer measures dual-linear polarizations, has a brightness temperature resolution of about 0.15 K for 1 sec integration time, and the antenna has a half-power full beamwidth of 37 degrees. The mass of the combined system is 3.8 kg and the power consumption is less than 3 W. We present the antenna and radiometer instrument, and initial results from these test phases.