First Polarimetric GNSS-R Measurements from a Stratospheric Flight over Boreal Forests

Abstract

The first-ever dual-frequency multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite Systems Reflectometry (GNSS-R) polarimetric measurements over boreal forests and lakes from the stratosphere are presented. Data were collected during the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB)/European Space Agency (ESA) sponsored Balloon Experiments for University Students (BEXUS) 19 stratospheric balloon experiment using the P(Y) and C/A ReflectOmeter (PYCARO) instrument operated in closed-loop mode. Maps of the polarimetric ratio for L1 and L2 Global Positioning System (GPS) and GLObal Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), and for E1 Galileo signals are derived from the float phase at 27,000 m height, and the specular points are geolocalized on the Earth’s surface. Polarimetric ratio (Γ_rl/Γ_rr) maps over boreal forests are shown to be in the range 2–16 dB for the different GNSS codes. This result suggests that the scattering is taking place not only over the soil, but over the different forests elements as well. Additionally to the interpretation of the experimental results a theoretical investigation of the different contributions to the total reflectivity over boreal forests is performed using a bistatic scattering model. The simulated cross- (reflected Left Hand Circular Polarization LHCP) and co-polar (reflected Right Hand Circular Polarization RHCP) reflectivities are evaluated for the soil, the canopy, and the canopy–soil interactions for three different biomass densities: 725 trees/ha, 150 trees/ha and 72 trees/ha. For elevation angles larger than the Brewster angle, it is found that the cross-polar signal is dominant when just single reflections over the forests are evaluated, while in the case of multiple reflections the co-polar signal becomes the largest one.

1. Introduction

Scientific applications of GNSS-R for Earth Observation include mesoscale ocean altimetry [1], wind speed measurements [2], ice altimetry [3], and soil moisture and vegetation determination [4]. There are different data acquisition techniques [5]: Conventional GNSS-R (cGNSS-R) [6], interferometric GNSS-R (iGNSS-R) [7], and reconstructed-code GNSS-R (rGNSS-R) [8]. At present, data collected by the Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd SSTL’s TechDemoSat-1 mission [9] are being processing by the community. Scattering over ocean is found to be highly diffuse, while over land and cryosphere surface targets the reflection becomes specular [10]. These studies consolidate the pioneer results of the United Kingdom Disaster Monitoring Constellation (UK-DMC) and push forward the popularity of GNSS-R in the Remote Sensing community. In the near future several new space-borne missions will include GNSS-R payloads: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (GyGNSS) mission [11], ESA’s GNSS rEflectometry, Radio Occultation and Scatterometry experiment on-board the International Space Station (GEROS-ISS) [12], ESA’s Passive Reflectometry and Interferometry System In-Orbit Demonstrator (PARIS-IoD) [13], and UPC’s ³Cat-2 6U CubeSat [14].

The use of GNSS-R polarimetry over land was first proposed in 2000 for soil moisture monitoring [15]. Later, theoretical simulations were carried out to evaluate the performance of GNSS-R polarimetric measurements for biomass monitoring [16]. Coherent and incoherent scattering were considered in the simulations. In particular, the coherent electromagnetic field was modeled as the reflection of the GNSS signals over the soil, attenuated by the vegetation above it. In this work [16], it was stated that the coherent component of the co-polar reflected signal is 30 dB lower than the cross-polar one. The incoherent component is dominant for co-polar signatures and for a biomass density larger than 50 ton/ha, while the coherent component is the highest for cross-polar signals up to 200 t/ha. Later, an experimental study [17] showed that the co-polar coherent reflectivity is roughly constant for biomass densities from 100 t/ha to 350 t/ha and for an elevation angle in the range θ_e = (50°, 80°). On the other side, the cross-polar component is shown to be reduced to approximately 5 dB. Recently, a different approach has proposed that the forward scattering coefficient is governed by the scattering properties of the vegetation elements and the soil surface, as well as by the interaction between the canopy and the soil, and the soil with the trunks [18]. In this study, the total cross- and the co-polar scattering coefficients are shown to be, respectively, approximate −8 to 8 dB, and approximate −2 to −15 dB for elevation angles in the range θ_e = (50°, 80°).

This work presents the first-ever measurements of polarimetric GNSS-R signatures using data from a stratospheric balloon experiment. Section 2 describes the experimental set-up. Section 3 presents the experimental results obtained with the PYCARO instrument and their interpretation. Section 4 provides final discussions, and conclusions are included in Section 5. Additionally, theoretical simulations of the cross- and co-polar reflectivities are presented in the appendix. The EMISVEG simulator [19,20] uses a bistatic scattering model to evaluate separately the forward scattered field over the soil, and the different forest’s trees elements.

2. Experimental Set-Up and Scenario

The ESA BEXUS 19 stratospheric flight (Figure 1) took place on 8 October 2014, at 6:00 p.m. (GPS Time), the experiment duration was 4 hours, the maximum flight height was ~27,000 m, and the trajectory was a single track from Esrange Space Center (latitude 67°53′N, longitude 21°04′E) to Finland (latitude 68°04′N, longitude 25°81′E) over lakes and boreal forest, which is characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches with needle-shaped leaves. Note that biomass of boreal forests is high, but the plant species diversity is less than that in tropical wet forests. The structure of these forests is quite homogeneous which allows the use of allometric equations to characterize the biomass. An updated version of the PYCARO reflectometer [8] including GLONASS and Galileo correlation channels was used. Additionally, both dual-band (L1, L2) and dual-polarization (RHCP, LHCP) zenith-looking antenna patch to collect the direct GNSS signals and nadir-looking antenna array to collect the Earth-reflected signals (Figure 1) were installed in the gondola. The nadir-looking antenna was composed of 6 elementary antenna patches. The total gain of the array was 12.9 dB at L1-LHCP, 13.3 dB at L1-RHCP, 11.6 dB at L2-LHCP and 11.6 dB at L2-RHCP. The On-Board Data Handling (OBDH) subsystem was composed of a Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) microcontroller for housekeeping and scientific data management, communications with the ground station, and data storage in a micro-Secure Digital (SD) card. The collected data were registered on-board, and simultaneously they were sent to the ground station using the E-Link system [21]. Additionally, an active thermal control was used because the outdoor temperature was so cold down to −70 °C.

Figure 1. Configuration of the BEXUS 19 stratospheric balloon at Esrange Space Center: 12,000 m³ balloon, valve, cutter, parachute, Esrange Balloon Service System (EBASS), flight train, Argos GPS and Air Traffic Control (ATC) Transponder (AGT), strobe light, radar reflector, and gondola. Total length of the system is up to 75 m [21]. Photo credits: European Space Agency (ESA).

Figure 1. Configuration of the BEXUS 19 stratospheric balloon at Esrange Space Center: 12,000 m³ balloon, valve, cutter, parachute, Esrange Balloon Service System (EBASS), flight train, Argos GPS and Air Traffic Control (ATC) Transponder (AGT), strobe light, radar reflector, and gondola. Total length of the system is up to 75 m [21]. Photo credits: European Space Agency (ESA).

3. Results of a Stratospheric Balloon Experiment over Boreal Forests

The PYCARO reflectometer was operated in closed-loop mode during this experiment, with delay and phase tracking loops activated. It uses cGNSS-R technique to process the open-access codes, and the rGNSS-R one for the encrypted codes. The polarimetric study is performed using two different observables: the polarimetric ratio [15] and the polarimetric phase [22] using the measurements provided by the phase tracking loop. The polarization ratio is more sensitive to soil dielectric properties and can cancels roughness effects although it does not do so perfectly for arbitrary scattering media. It is defined as the ratio of the cross-over the co-polar reflectivities ${\text{Γ}}_{\text{rl}}/{\text{Γ}}_{\text{rr}}$, and it is estimated as the ratio of the peak of the reflected signal power waveform at LHCP ${|\langle {\text{Y}}_{\text{reflected},\text{Peak}}^{\text{l}}\rangle |}^2$ over the peak of the reflected signal power waveform at RHCP ${|\langle {\text{Y}}_{\text{reflected},\text{Peak}}^{\text{r}}\rangle |}^2$, after proper compensation of the noise power floor and the antenna radiation pattern:

$$\frac{{\text{Γ}}_{\text{rl}}}{{\text{Γ}}_{\text{rr}}}=\frac{{|\langle {\text{Y}}_{\text{reflected},\text{Peak}}^{\text{l}}\rangle |}^2}{{|\langle {\text{Y}}_{\text{reflected},\text{Peak}}^{\text{r}}\rangle |}^2}$$

(1)

where l and r denote Left and Right Hand Circular Polarization, respectively. Note that the noise power floor of the reflected waveforms ${\langle \left|{\text{Y}}_{\text{noise}}\right|\rangle }^2$has to be subtracted to the reflected power waveform $\langle {\left|\text{Y}\right|}^2\rangle$ to obtain the power of the signal itself $\langle {\left|{\text{Y}}_{\text{signal}}\right|}^2\rangle$. Additionally, the different gain of the antenna array at LHCP (12.9 dB at L1-LHCP and 11.6 at L2-LHCP) and RHCP (13.3 dB at L1-RHCP and 11.6 dB at L2-RHCP) have to be compensated by subtracting the antenna gain to the reflected signal power. Once the effect of the noise and the antenna have been compensated, the incoherent power component is omitted in the reflectivity, as obtained using Equation (1), by subtracting to each incoherently averaged waveform’s peak $\langle {\left|{\text{Y}}_{\text{reflected},\text{Peak}}\right|}^2\rangle$ the amplitude variance of the complex waveforms’ peaks ${\text{σ}}_{\left|{\text{Y}}_{\text{reflected},\text{Peak}}\right|}^2$ [23]:

$${|\langle {\text{Y}}_{\text{reflected},\text{Peak}}\rangle |}^2=\langle {\left|{\text{Y}}_{\text{reflected},\text{Peak}}\right|}^2\rangle -{\text{σ}}_{\left|{\text{Y}}_{\text{reflected},\text{Peak}}\right|}^2$$

(2)

Thus, reflectivity values are associated to the first Fresnel zone. The semi-major axis of the first Fresnel zone during the float phase of the flight and for an elevation angle θ_e = 70° is: GPS L1 Coarse/Acquisition C/A (74 m), GPS L2 Precise/Secure P(Y) (83 m), GPS L1 P(Y) (74 m), GPS L2 Civilian C (83 m), GLONASS L1 C/A (74 m), GLONASS L2 C/A (83 m), GLONASS L2 Precise P (83 m) and Galileo E1 BC (74 m). Additionally, the difference of the unwrapped phases of the complex waveforms peak at LHCP ${\text{Ψ}}_{\text{n}}^{\text{l}}$ and RHCP ${\text{Ψ}}_{\text{n}}^{\text{r}}$ can be used. This phase has two terms; one induced during the scattering process, which is roughly constant at high elevation angles (e.g., θ_e ≥ 60°), and another one due to the propagation. As compared to the polarimetric ratio the main advantage is that the phase difference between the RHCP and LHCP signals can be modeled independently of the elevation angle [22].

After compensation of the first term (using as a first approximation a flat soil model (e.g., Equations (18) and (19) in [24]) the phase difference ${\text{δΨ}}_{\text{n}}$ between the peak amplitude of the LHCP and the RHCP reflected complex waveforms at time t_n can be used to infer the geometric delay difference ${\text{ρ}}_{\text{geo},\text{n}}$ as:

$${\text{ρ}}_{\text{geo},\text{n}}=\frac{{\text{λδΨ}}_{\text{n}}}{2\text{π}}$$

(3)

where λ is the signal wavelength. Height differences h_n of the center of phase of the scatterers at LHCP and RHCP are related to the geometric delay difference ${\text{ρ}}_{\text{geo},\text{n}}$ as:

$${\text{h}}_{\text{n}}=\frac{{\text{ρ}}_{\text{geo},\text{n}}}{2{\text{sinθ}}_{\text{e}}}$$

(4)

It is found that the mean of the polarimetric phase corresponding to GPS, GLONASS and Galileo signals over boreal forests is in the range from approximate −1.4 m to −9.6 m, which suggests that the phase center of the reflected signals at LHCP is higher than the one at RHCP, that is the scattering process takes place over the canopy and the soil [18]. The trajectory of the balloon was provided by Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) using a GPS receiver on-board, and small platform height variations were compensated for. Note that the vertical speed of the gondola during the float phase was smaller than 1 m/s, which prevented phase jumps. Single reflections (from RHCP to LHCP) are mainly due to interactions with the upper scatterers on the forests. On the other side, signals collected at RHCP involve multiple scattering soil–leaves and soil–branches (first from RHCP to LHCP and then from LHCP to RHCP). This is the reason that explains that the polarimetric phase has negative values (Equation (4)).

Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the first-ever maps of the polarimetric ratio using dual-band multi-constellation signals over boreal forests and lakes. The polarimetric ratio was provided over lakes and boreal forests to give a more complete information and description of the polarimetric properties in the GNSS-R case for different types of scattering media. In Figure 2 there are two different color scales to show a general overview of the polarimetric ratio and also the sensitivity of the technique over boreal forests as it can be seen in the embedded scales. For this study, the elevation angle of the selected satellites was θ_e = 70° for GPS and GLONASS, and θ_e = 60° for Galileo. This selection was made because for lower elevation angles the performance of the technique was degraded due to the high directivity of the down-looking antenna array. The maps correspond to different ground tracks. The polarimetric ratio values at the specular reflection points were geolocated and represented over the Earth’s surface using Google Maps for simpler interpretation. The ephemerides as provided by an on-board positioning receiver were used to derive the orbit parameters of the GNSS satellites, while the PYCARO trajectory was measured by the on-board receiver. cGNSS-R was used for data acquisition of GPS L1 C/A (Figure 2a), GPS L2 C (Figure 2b), GLONASS L1 C/A (Figure 3a), GLONASS L2 C/A (Figure 3b), GLONASS L2 P (Figure 3c) and Galileo E1 BC (Figure 3d) signals, while rGNSS-R for GPS L1 P(Y) (Figure 2c) and GPS L2 P(Y) (Figure 2d). The mean polarimetric ratio (PR) for GPS L1 C/A signals is ~8 dB and ~4.2 dB over lakes and boreal forests, respectively (Table 1). Additionally, it is found that for the so-called data-less signal GPS L2 C the ratio is, respectively, ~12.7 dB and ~8.1 dB over lakes and boreal forests. The reason that explains the higher values of PR of GPS L2 C as compared to GPS L1 C/A signals is that the depolarization of the direct signal (Table 2) is higher for L1 C/A than for L2 C signals ${\text{SNR}}_{\text{GPS},\text{L}1\text{C}/\text{A},\text{l}}$ = 13 dB and ${\text{SNR}}_{\text{GPS},\text{L}2\text{C},\text{l}}$ = 3 dB). The Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) values of the direct signals are higher for L1 than for L2, as can be appreciated in Table 2. This is empirical evidence showing that the degree of depolarization is lower for GPS L2 C signals.

Figure 2. Measured polarimetric ratios for a flight height of 27,000 m and an elevation angle θ_e = 70° for (a) GPS L1 C/A, (b) GPS L2 C, (c) GPS L1 P (Y), (d) GPS L2 P (Y).

Figure 2. Measured polarimetric ratios for a flight height of 27,000 m and an elevation angle θ_e = 70° for (a) GPS L1 C/A, (b) GPS L2 C, (c) GPS L1 P (Y), (d) GPS L2 P (Y).

The rGNSS-R is evaluated successfully for first time over forests, despite the large dispersion of the signal induced by the scattering media. The polarimetric ratio is larger as compared to the GPS L1 C/A signals, with a value ~20.4 dB and ~14.6 dB over lakes and boreal forests, respectively. It is worth pointing out some considerations about the squaring losses of the P (Y) code correlation technique implemented in PYCARO (rGNSS-R). They have a non-linear dependence with the SNR of the received signal [8]: The lower the SNR, the larger the squaring losses [25]. Therefore, the polarimetric ratio as derived from the P (Y) code is higher because of the SNR of the collected RHCP signals is lower than the LHCP ones. Additionally, the direct P (Y) signal depolarization is much lower as compared to the L1 C/A and the L2 C, which also contributes to a higher PR.

Figure 3. Measured polarimetric ratios for a flight height of 27,000 m and an elevation angle θ_e = 70° for (a) GLONASS L1 C/A, (b) GLONASS L2 C/A, (c) GLONASS L2 P; and for an elevation angle θ_e = 60° for (d) Galileo E1 BC.

Figure 3. Measured polarimetric ratios for a flight height of 27,000 m and an elevation angle θ_e = 70° for (a) GLONASS L1 C/A, (b) GLONASS L2 C/A, (c) GLONASS L2 P; and for an elevation angle θ_e = 60° for (d) Galileo E1 BC.

Maps of the mean polarimetric ratio for GLONASS L1 C/A (Figure 3a), L2 C/A (Figure 3b) and L2 P (Figure 3c) are also included. Values over lakes are found to be ~8.2 dB for GLONASS L1 C/A signals, in agreement with GPS L1 C/A signals (Table 1 and Table 2) because the corresponding direct signals have a similar level of depolarization, and the lakes scattering properties are the same independently of the track. On the other side, the effect of the different tracks (different forest structure) is manifested in the different values of the polarimetric ratio over forests because the signal depolarization due to the scattering, the propagation and the effect of multiple reflections. However, there were no signal acquisitions over lakes at RHCP for GLONASS L2 C/A and L2 P because the direct signal is found to be highly polarized (Table 2). Table 2 shows that there were no signal acquisitions of the direct GLONASS L2 C/A and L2 P signals at LHCP. This is an indication showing that these signals are highly polarized so that the SNR at LHCP is so low that could not be detected by the PYCARO instrument during the flight. On the other side, the following values are found over boreal forests: ${\text{PR}}_{\text{GLONASS},\text{L}1\text{C}/\text{A}}$ ~ 6.7 dB, ${\text{PR}}_{\text{GLONASS},\text{L}2\text{C}/\text{A}}$ ~ 6.3 dB and ${\text{PR}}_{\text{GLONASS},\text{L}2\text{P}}$ ~ 6.3 dB.

Table 1. Mean polarimetric ratio over forests and lakes for GPS (L1 C/A, L2 C, L1 P (Y) and L2 P (Y)), GLONASS (L1 C/A, L2 C/A and L2 P) and Galileo (E1 BC) signals during the float phase of BEXUS 19 flight.

GNSS Code	Elevation Angle	PR (dB) (Forests)	PR (dB) (Lakes)
GPS L1 C/A	θe ~ 70°	4.2	8
GPS L2 P(Y)	θe ~ 70°	14.6	20.4
GPS L1 P(Y)	θe ~ 70°	14.6	20.4
GPS L2 C	θe ~ 70°	8.1	12.7
GLONASS L1 C/A	θe ~ 70°	6.7	8.2
GLONASS L2 C/A	θe ~ 70°	6.3	-
GLONASS L2 P	θe ~ 70°	6.3	-
Galileo E1 BC	θe ~ 60°	4.1	-

Table 1. Mean polarimetric ratio over forests and lakes for GPS (L1 C/A, L2 C, L1 P (Y) and L2 P (Y)), GLONASS (L1 C/A, L2 C/A and L2 P) and Galileo (E1 BC) signals during the float phase of BEXUS 19 flight.

GNSS Code	Elevation Angle	PR (dB) (Forests)	PR (dB) (Lakes)
GPS L1 C/A	θe ~ 70°	4.2	8
GPS L2 P(Y)	θe ~ 70°	14.6	20.4
GPS L1 P(Y)	θe ~ 70°	14.6	20.4
GPS L2 C	θe ~ 70°	8.1	12.7
GLONASS L1 C/A	θe ~ 70°	6.7	8.2
GLONASS L2 C/A	θe ~ 70°	6.3	-
GLONASS L2 P	θe ~ 70°	6.3	-
Galileo E1 BC	θe ~ 60°	4.1	-

Table 2. Signal-to-Noise Ratio at RHCP y LHCP of the direct GPS (L1 C/A, L2 C, L1 P (Y) and L2 P (Y)), GLONASS (L1 C/A, L2 C/A and L2 P) and Galileo (E1 BC) signals as function of the elevation angle during the float phase of BEXUS 19 flight.

GNSS Code	SNRr (dB) θe~ 70°	SNRl (dB) θe~ 70°	SNRr (dB) θe~ 60°	SNRl (dB) θe~ 60°	SNRr (dB) θe~ 50°	SNRl (dB) θe~ 50°	SNRr (dB) θe~ 40°	SNRl (dB) θe~ 40°
GPS L1 C/A	34	13	33	23	32	23	30	23
GPS L2 P(Y)	19	-	16	-	13	-	10	-
GPS L1 P(Y)	19	-	16	-	13	-	10	-
GPS L2 C	28	3	25	3	23	8	21	8
GLONASS L1 C/A	31	12	31	18	29	25	21	15
GLONASS L2 C/A	16	-	16	-	20	-	20	-
GLONASS L2 P	12	-	12	-	16	-	16	-
Galileo E1 BC	15	-	14	-	13	-	11	-

Table 2. Signal-to-Noise Ratio at RHCP y LHCP of the direct GPS (L1 C/A, L2 C, L1 P (Y) and L2 P (Y)), GLONASS (L1 C/A, L2 C/A and L2 P) and Galileo (E1 BC) signals as function of the elevation angle during the float phase of BEXUS 19 flight.

GNSS Code	SNRr (dB) θe~ 70°	SNRl (dB) θe~ 70°	SNRr (dB) θe~ 60°	SNRl (dB) θe~ 60°	SNRr (dB) θe~ 50°	SNRl (dB) θe~ 50°	SNRr (dB) θe~ 40°	SNRl (dB) θe~ 40°
GPS L1 C/A	34	13	33	23	32	23	30	23
GPS L2 P(Y)	19	-	16	-	13	-	10	-
GPS L1 P(Y)	19	-	16	-	13	-	10	-
GPS L2 C	28	3	25	3	23	8	21	8
GLONASS L1 C/A	31	12	31	18	29	25	21	15
GLONASS L2 C/A	16	-	16	-	20	-	20	-
GLONASS L2 P	12	-	12	-	16	-	16	-
Galileo E1 BC	15	-	14	-	13	-	11	-

In this work, authors use the available ground truth data to interpret the results, but unfortunately there are no ground truth data for each track. The PR for GLONASS L2 C/A and L2 P are found to be equal over the same track because the direct signals were no depolarized (Table 2). Finally, it is found that the polarimetric ratio for Galileo E1 BC over boreal forests for a different track and time of signal acquisition is ${\text{PR}}_{\text{Galileo},\text{E}1\text{BC}}$ ~ 4.1 dB.

A common characteristic for all the GNSS signals is that the polarimetric ratio is lower over boreal forests (${\text{PR}}_{\text{GPS},\text{L}1\text{C}/\text{A}}$ ~ 4.2 dB, ${\text{PR}}_{\text{GPS},\text{L}2\text{C}}$ ~ 8.1 dB, ${\text{PR}}_{\text{GPS},\text{P}\left(\text{Y}\right)}$ ~ 14.6 dB, and ${\text{PR}}_{\text{GLONASS},\text{L}1\text{C}/\text{A}}$ ~ 6.7 dB) than over lakes ${\text{PR}}_{\text{GPS},\text{L}1\text{C}/\text{A}}$ ~ 8 dB, ${\text{PR}}_{\text{GPS},\text{L}2\text{C}}$ ~ 12.7 dB, ${\text{PR}}_{\text{GPS},\text{P}\left(\text{Y}\right)}$ ~ 20.4 dB, and ${\text{PR}}_{\text{GLONASS},\text{L}1\text{C}/\text{A}}$ ~ 8.2 dB). In this scenario, in addition to depolarization effects due to scattering and propagation through the vegetation, multiple reflections involving canopy-soil and soil-canopy increase the amount of co-polar signals in the final scattered field reaching the receiver.

4. Final Discussions

The BEXUS 19 stratospheric balloon experiment with an apogee of ~27,000 m has provided a unique opportunity to study for first time the scattering of GNSS signals over boreal forests. Multi-constellation (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo) reflected signals were collected by the PYCARO instrument at dual-band (L1, L2) and dual-polarization (RHCP, LHCP). These measurements provide the first experimental evidence towards the further evaluation of GNSS-R for polarimetric applications. First results show a promising performance of the PYCARO instrument as the payload for the ³Cat-2 mission. The scientific evaluation of this dataset offers the opportunity to evaluate the feasibility of the GNSS-R to perform biomass monitoring, which is a key-factor for analyzing the carbon cycle. The main added value is the measurement of polarimetric signatures, which shows sensitivity over forests and lakes. Additionally, different data acquisition techniques have been used: cGNSS-R for the open-source codes and the novel rGNSS-R for the encrypted P(Y) GPS code. The scattering of the GNSS-R signals takes place over the soil and the canopy but also through multiple reflections involving canopy-soil and soil-branches interactions. This is an important issue that has to be considered to perform biomass monitoring, since the vegetation provides a scattered field additionally to the effect of the attenuation of the signals reflected over the soil. Future work should include a study of: (a) The potential advantages of the synergy between both data access techniques, and (b) scattering over different types of vegetated soils.

5. Conclusions

The polarimetric ratio and the mean polarimetric phase over boreal forests with a biomass density of ~2,500 trees/ha and for an elevation angle of θ_e = 70° for GPS and GLONASS and θ_e = 60° for Galileo vary in the ranges from approximate 2 to 16 dB and from approximate −1.4 to −9.6 m, respectively. This is due to the effect of different tracks, periods of signal acquisition, levels of depolarization of the direct signals and because of the squaring losses of the rGNSS-R. The polarimetric phase is found to be negative, which means that the center of phase of the reflected signals at LHCP is higher in the vertical profile of the forests as compared with RHCP signals. As the main conclusion, GNSS-R has been shown to have sensitivity to perform polarimetric measurements over lakes and boreal forests from a stratospheric balloon flight with an apogee of 27,000 m using dual-band multi-constellation signals.

Additionally, a theoretical investigation of the different contributions to the total reflectivity over boreal forests has been performed and it is included in the appendix. The evolution of the reflectivity as a function of the elevation angle over boreal forests using simulations of the cross- (reflected LHCP) and co-polar (reflected RHCP) scattered fields over soil and canopy, including canopy-soil interactions, for three different levels of biomass density (725 trees/ha, 150 trees/ha and 72 tress/ha) has been analyzed. The total reflectivity is dominated by that of the soil. The canopy (branches, leaves) reflectivity variations for larger density levels are found to have a dependence with the elevation angle, the polarization of the reflected signal and the scatterer type. Cross-polar canopy reflectivity increments are from approximate 10 to 20 dB for elevation angles in the range θ_e = (10°, 80°). On the other side, attenuation due to signal propagation through forests leads to lower reflectivity values over soil as lower is the elevation angle, independently of the polarization. However, the polarization is found to be an important parameter that determines the reflectivity levels of canopy-soil interactions. Increments of canopy-soil cross-polar reflectivity values have a similar trend than those corresponding to soil scattering. Nonetheless, for elevation angles larger than ~30°, the former scattering mechanism shows a higher increment of reflectivity as compared to scattering only over the soil. Additionally, it is found that leaves–soil co-polar reflectivity levels reduces from 10 dB to 0 dB for elevation angles in the range θ_e = (10°, 80°), while for branches–soil interactions is roughly constant around zero.