Radio frequency interference observations using an L-Band direct sampling receiver during the SMAPVEX12 airborne campaign

Radio frequency interference observations during the SMAP Validation Experiment 2012 (SMAPVEX12) airborne campaign are reported in this study. The campaign was conducted in Summer 2012 near Winnipeg, Canada with additional flights over Denver, CO. The Passive Active L-Band Sensor (PALS) radiometer of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was used with a full bandwidth direct sampling receiver (called IBOB) to measure and store data fully resolved in time and frequency. In this paper, an overview of the campaign, hardware details, signal processing, and RFI detection are explained. Finally, properties of the observed RFI and future work are discussed.