High resolution millimeter-wave imaging sensor

A scanning 3-mm radiometer is described that has been built for use on a small aircraft to produce real time high resolution images of the ground when atmospheric conditions such as smoke, dust, and clouds make IR and visual sensors unusable. The sensor can be used for a variety of remote sensing applications such as measurements of snow cover and snow water equivalent, precipitation mapping, vegetation type and extent, surface moisture and temperature, and surface thermal inertia. The advantages of millimeter waves for cloud penetration and the ability to observe different physical phenomena make this system an attractive supplement to visible and IR remote sensing systems.