Microwave radiometry and scatterometry are preferred techniques for many remote sensing applications. In particular, it is used to measure soil moisture, snow cover, glacier movement, sea salinity, sea surface temperature and ocean currents. Achieving a given spatial resolution for these measurements requires a wide range of microwave frequencies, higher than optical and infrared frequencies. As a result, it is challenging for low-frequency microwave systems to achieve the high spatial resolution required within reasonable cost limits.
The way in which microwaves interact with different materials and objects (both natural and artificial) will be analyzed, with the aim of understanding the link between the measurable properties of microwaves and the physical attributes of natural objects and the use of microwave remote sensing instruments for Earth observation. For meaningful measurements using microwaves, it is important to know how they interact with the real world and understand the influence of the atmosphere on measurements at the Earth's surface.