Initial Images of the Synthetic Aperture Radiometer 2D-STAR

Initial results are presented for the new synthetic aperture radiometer, 2D-STAR, which is a dual-polarized L-band radiometer that employs aperture synthesis in two dimensions. This airborne instrument is the natural evolution of the Electronically Scanned Thinned Array Radiometer, which employs aperture synthesis only in the across-track dimension, and represents a further step in the development of aperture synthesis for remote sensing applications. 2D-STAR was successfully tested in June 2003 and, then, participated in the SMEX03 and SMEX04 soil moisture experiments. A description of the instrument and initial results in the form of first images and a preliminary comparison with changes in soil moisture during SMEX03 are presented here.