The development of an algorithm to enhance and match the resolution of satellite measurements from AMSR-E

Microwave radiometers have many applications because of their penetration ability. However, two major problems remain that obstruct the development of microwave research. One factor that limits their commercial application is the relatively low resolution of microwave radiometers. The other is the non-uniform spatial resolution for each frequency of the radiometer. The resolution mismatch becomes a critical consideration when observations at two or more frequencies must be combined. In this paper, we have used the Backus-Gilbert method to solve these two problems, while AMSR-E is chosen as the research object. First, we derived the Backus-Gilbert method in detail. The simulated data were then used to decide the optimum parameters in the Backus-Gilbert method. To enhance the resolution, the Backus-Gilbert method has been applied to the AMSR-E data, which covered the Mexico Gulf and the Amazon River. After resolution was enhanced, detailed information was obtained and compared with visible high resolution data. To match the resolution, the AMSR-E data from the Oklahoma Little Washed were used to compute the Microwave Vegetation Index (MVI), which was developed by J. C. Shi. Compared to the original MVIs, the information contained in the MVIs that were processed by the Backus-Gilbert method is more reliable.