RFI detected by kurtosis and polarimetry: Performance comparison based on airborne campaign data

Leading up to the ESA Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission, a series of campaigns have taken place, including airborne L-band radiometer measurements using the EMIRAD-2 radiometer - a fully polarimetric radiometer with Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) detection capabilities by means of the kurtosis method. An RFI detection scheme combining kurtosis and polarimetry has been evaluated, and it has been established that the two methods complement each other well. Following the addition of a digital filter bank to the radiometer system, a new RFI detection scheme has been developed and tested. The RFI removal capabilities of the two detection schemes are similar, however, the new detection scheme results in fewer data samples being discarded due to RFI.