Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) brightness temperature validation

The Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) is an experimental C-band airborne microwave radiometer developed by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to provide hurricane's surface wind speed and rain rate. It is intended to expand the current NOAA and US Air Force hurricane surveillance capability by extending the operational Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR) measurements to a wide-swath hurricane image. This paper discusses the evaluation of HIRAD radiometric brightness temperature images on a relatively uniform ocean scene during the unmanned Global Hawk scientific flight over the Pacific Ocean in 2012. The objective of this analysis is to assess the accuracy and stability of HIRAD Tb measurement. This objective is accomplished by comparing HIRAD measured and theoretical Tbs.