Renish Thomas
Ph.D. PreliminaryDec 18, 2024, 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Teams and LSC 328
Advances in Passive Microwave Remote Sensing: Capabilities of Forward-looking Radiometers for Aircraft Icing Detection and the Development of a Novel Radiometric Scene Generator.
Abstract: This dissertation focuses on two advances in the field of airborne and spaceborne passive microwave remote sensing.
First, aircraft icing caused by super-cooled liquid water in clouds poses severe risks, particularly for smaller aircraft such as helicopters and UAVs, which often lack deicing equipment due to size constraints. A promising solution involves using forward-looking millimeter-wave radiometers on aircraft to detect super-cooled water droplets in advance of flying through a cloud, enabling the aircraft to avoid clouds with icing potential. To achieve this, radiative transfer simulations were performed to assess the feasibility of this approach and to determine the optimal set of frequencies for implementing such an icing sensor. Additionally, field experiments using airborne radiometers were conducted to validate the simulations. The results of the radiative transfer simulations and field experiments are presented along with their implications.
Second, the need for reconfigurable microwave sensors in Earth remote sensing is growing. These sensors dynamically adapt their spectral, radiometric, spatial, and viewing angle properties to focus on areas of interest, such as tropical storms, while conserving resources in less dynamic regions. To evaluate the performance of these highly resource-efficient sensors, a sensor-in-the-loop laboratory testbed capable of simulating on-orbit radiometric scenes that the sensor will observe is essential. This capability will be realized through the development of a Radiometric Scene Generator (RSG). A novel microwave RSG, utilizing microwave metamaterials and laser systems to project high-resolution radiometric scenes into the sensor’s field-of-regard, will be presented. This RSG enables end-to-end evaluation of these reconfigurable sensors and represents an enabling technology for spaceborne Earth remote sensing and related fields.
First, aircraft icing caused by super-cooled liquid water in clouds poses severe risks, particularly for smaller aircraft such as helicopters and UAVs, which often lack deicing equipment due to size constraints. A promising solution involves using forward-looking millimeter-wave radiometers on aircraft to detect super-cooled water droplets in advance of flying through a cloud, enabling the aircraft to avoid clouds with icing potential. To achieve this, radiative transfer simulations were performed to assess the feasibility of this approach and to determine the optimal set of frequencies for implementing such an icing sensor. Additionally, field experiments using airborne radiometers were conducted to validate the simulations. The results of the radiative transfer simulations and field experiments are presented along with their implications.
Second, the need for reconfigurable microwave sensors in Earth remote sensing is growing. These sensors dynamically adapt their spectral, radiometric, spatial, and viewing angle properties to focus on areas of interest, such as tropical storms, while conserving resources in less dynamic regions. To evaluate the performance of these highly resource-efficient sensors, a sensor-in-the-loop laboratory testbed capable of simulating on-orbit radiometric scenes that the sensor will observe is essential. This capability will be realized through the development of a Radiometric Scene Generator (RSG). A novel microwave RSG, utilizing microwave metamaterials and laser systems to project high-resolution radiometric scenes into the sensor’s field-of-regard, will be presented. This RSG enables end-to-end evaluation of these reconfigurable sensors and represents an enabling technology for spaceborne Earth remote sensing and related fields.
Adviser: Steven C. Reising
Co-Adviser: N/A
Non-ECE Member: Christian Kummerow, ATS
Member 3: Chandra Venkatachalam, ECE
Addional Members: Jothiram Vivekanandan
Co-Adviser: N/A
Non-ECE Member: Christian Kummerow, ATS
Member 3: Chandra Venkatachalam, ECE
Addional Members: Jothiram Vivekanandan
Publications:
1. R. Thomas, Y. Goncharenko, S. Reising, J. McDonald, E. Pahlke, and R. Bateman, "Frequency Selection and Detection Efficiency of Forward-Looking Miniaturized Millimeter-wave Radiometer for Icing Detection from Airborne Platforms," in AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec. 2021, Bibcode: 2021AGUFM.A35C1640T
2. R. Thomas, Y. Goncharenko, S. C. Reising, J. McDonald, E. Pahlke, R. Bateman, J. Smith, C. C. Nam, S. Williams, L. O'Brien, and M. Bell, "Forward-Looking Millimeter-Wave Radiometers to Provide Advance Warning of Aircraft Icing Potential in Clouds," in Meeting Abstracts of the National Radio Science Meeting (USNC-URSI), Boulder, CO, 2022. Available: https://www.usnc-ursi-archive.org/nrsm/2022/papers/1253.pdf
3. W. Blackwell, M. Abedin, V. Chandrasekar, S. Farzana, C. Kataria, S. Jeong, Z. Li, A. Milstein, Z. Mohammad, M. Pieper, W. Moulder, G. Rebeiz, S. Reising, R. Thomas, and P. Wang "Advances in designing, building, and testing intelligent, data-driven sensors for high-resolution microwave sounding and imaging from small satellite platforms", Proc. SPIE 13192, Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites XXVIII, 1319203 (20 November 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3026773
4. A. Soliman, S. T. Brown, S. C. Reising, S. Denvir, O. Pradhan, A. Babenko, A. B. Tanner, P. Kangaslahti, R. Thomas, Z. Mohammad, and S. Farazani, "Development of a Stratospheric Balloon Hyperspectral Microwave Radiometer for Planetary Boundary Layer Observation," in 2024 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), Athens, Greece, Jul. 2024, pp. 6282-6287, doi: 10.1109/IGARSS53475.2024.10641768
1. R. Thomas, Y. Goncharenko, S. Reising, J. McDonald, E. Pahlke, and R. Bateman, "Frequency Selection and Detection Efficiency of Forward-Looking Miniaturized Millimeter-wave Radiometer for Icing Detection from Airborne Platforms," in AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec. 2021, Bibcode: 2021AGUFM.A35C1640T
2. R. Thomas, Y. Goncharenko, S. C. Reising, J. McDonald, E. Pahlke, R. Bateman, J. Smith, C. C. Nam, S. Williams, L. O'Brien, and M. Bell, "Forward-Looking Millimeter-Wave Radiometers to Provide Advance Warning of Aircraft Icing Potential in Clouds," in Meeting Abstracts of the National Radio Science Meeting (USNC-URSI), Boulder, CO, 2022. Available: https://www.usnc-ursi-archive.org/nrsm/2022/papers/1253.pdf
3. W. Blackwell, M. Abedin, V. Chandrasekar, S. Farzana, C. Kataria, S. Jeong, Z. Li, A. Milstein, Z. Mohammad, M. Pieper, W. Moulder, G. Rebeiz, S. Reising, R. Thomas, and P. Wang "Advances in designing, building, and testing intelligent, data-driven sensors for high-resolution microwave sounding and imaging from small satellite platforms", Proc. SPIE 13192, Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites XXVIII, 1319203 (20 November 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3026773
4. A. Soliman, S. T. Brown, S. C. Reising, S. Denvir, O. Pradhan, A. Babenko, A. B. Tanner, P. Kangaslahti, R. Thomas, Z. Mohammad, and S. Farazani, "Development of a Stratospheric Balloon Hyperspectral Microwave Radiometer for Planetary Boundary Layer Observation," in 2024 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), Athens, Greece, Jul. 2024, pp. 6282-6287, doi: 10.1109/IGARSS53475.2024.10641768
Program of Study:
ATS-620
ATS-601
ECE-548
ECE-521
ECE-536
ECE-504
ATS-652
N/A
ATS-620
ATS-601
ECE-548
ECE-521
ECE-536
ECE-504
ATS-652
N/A