The Ultrawideband Software-Defined Microwave Radiometer: Instrument Description and Initial Campaign Results

The ultrawideband software-defined microwave radiometer is a 500–2000-MHz radiometer developed to probe temperatures inside ice sheets. Given the instrument’s operation outside of protected portions of the spectrum, radio frequency interference (RFI) is a significant concern, and the instrument is designed to facilitate RFI detection and filtering. This paper analyzes the design and operation of the radiometer, the accuracy and stability of the brightness temperatures it produces, and the RFI analyses of the results acquired in its debut flight over northern Canada and Greenland in September 2016.