Sensitivity of the kurtosis statistic as a detector of pulsed sinusoidal radio frequency interfer

Radio frequency interference (RFI) from anthropogenic sources in microwave radiometers detecting geophysical parameters is both common and insidious. As this RFI is always additive to the brightness, the presence of undetected RFI can bias the geophysical parameter retrieval. As radiometers have the most sensitive receivers operating in their band, low levels of RFI are both significant and difficult to identify. The kurtosis statistic is a tool being explored as a means of detecting low level RFI in microwave receivers. The performance of the kurtosis statistic as a detector of RFI is introduced.