Inland Water Inundation Extent and Wind Speeds from Passive L-band GNSS-R and Active C- and Ka-band Radar

Surface water features such as open water extent, extent of flooded vegetation, and wind speeds from remotely sensed datasets are enabled from microwave remote sensing technologies; however, there is currently no operational system to characterize wind speeds from inland water bodies. Inland wind speed measurements have great utility for weather and water resources monitoring. Reflectometry and backscatter analysis from satellite passive GNSS-R and SAR instruments enable the characterization of diverse features based on surface roughness and dielectric characteristics. The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) and SPIRE are GNSS-R satellite constellations that receive reflected L-band signals from the surface, sent from external GNSS satellite systems. As CYGNSS and SPIRE passively receive reflected signals, spatial and temporal observations are inconsistent. However, when gridded, these constellations may produce higher spatial and temporal resolutions than available satellite L-band mappers.