Time series of P- and L-band forest backscatter from BorealScat

This paper describes results from BorealScat, which is a tower-based P/L/C-band radar being developed by Chalmers in the forest site Remningstorp, Sweden. The objective is to investigate the radar signatures in varying environmental conditions. The 50-m tower has been built adjacent to a forest stand, with above-ground biomass of 300 tons/ha and dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). The radar consists of an antenna array at the top of the tower connected to a 20-port vector network analyser (VNA) with low-loss cables. The first version of BorealScat performs polarimetric and tomographic measurements in the frequency range 420-1375 MHz. Meteorological and soil moisture measurements are also available. We present first results from a time series collected 16-27 December 2016 during which air temperature varied in the range -4° to 8°C.