The Cygnss Coherent End-to-End Simulator: Development and Results

The CYclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) End-to-End Simulator (E2ES) is updated with a new module capable of accurately simulating coherent forward scattering from inland water bodies. This module uses a Global Navigation Satellite Systems Reflectometry (GNSS-R) model that can account for both coherent and incoherent scattering due to small scale surface roughness. The model is developed based on the Huygens-Kirchhoff principle. One principle application is to support the development of wetland extent retrieval algorithms over heterogenous scenes. In this abstract, a water mask corresponding to a lake surrounded by mountains and vegetation is considered. A modeled time series of reflected power is generated and results are compared to actual CYGNSS raw IF data. The final goal is to support scientific studies related to the capabilities of CYGNSS for inland water body monitoring.