IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - March 2013 - 61

interferers were identified and removed [1]). Finally,
understanding the impact of RFI, and the mitigation
of RFI, on data records ensures the integrity of research
that makes use of remote sensing and radio astronomy
measurements.
Upcoming Special Issue in IEEE TGRS
To catalog the important work being performed to identify, monitor, and mitigate RFI, and to assess the impact of
interference, the Frequency Allocations in Remote Sensing
Technical Committee has commissioned a special issue of
IEEE TGRS covering this subject for publication in October
2013. Submissions will cover a combination of software
and hardware solutions to the RFI problem. Moreover,
the special issue will detail the challenges in monitoring
radio-frequency interference, and attempt to quantify the
impact that interference has on measurements. By collecting a range of papers concerning RFI, the issue will serve as
a central resource to sensor designers, algorithm developers, and data users.
Although the topic of radio-frequency interference has
been represented in isolated articles in previous regular
issues, a dedicated special issue is highly relevant due to the
expanding use of the spectrum and the demands of new
spaceborne missions. The main goal of the special issue is
to present the utilization of various methods to identify,
mitigate, and monitor RFI. We wish to inform data users

of the impact of RFI on observations as well. Though TGRS
focuses on remote sensing of geophysical phenomena, we
are also looking to the experience of the radio astronomy
community in order to learn of their best practices.
Upcoming Special Session at IGARSS 2013
A half session is planned for IGARSS 2013 in Melbourne,
Australia to highlight recent work on RFI as related to recent
missions, including Soil Moisture Active/Passive (SMAP),
Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS), Aquarius, and
Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-2).
Research efforts related to these missions will be highlighted and new techniques and results will be discussed.
Furthermore, recent activities funded under the NSF
Enhancing Access to the Radio Spectrum (EARS) will be
presented. The focus of EARS is to identify bold new concepts with the potential to contribute significant improvements to efficient radio spectrum utilization and to greatly
expand access to current and future wireless-enabled goods
and services.
References
[1] R. Oliva, E. Daganzo, Y. H. Kerr, S. Mecklenburg, S. Nieto,
P. Richaume, and C. Gruhier, "SMOS radio frequency interference scenario: Status and actions taken to improve the RFI environment in the 1400-1427-MHz passive band," IEEE Trans.
Geosci. Remote Sensing, vol. 50, no. 5, pp. 1427-1439, May 2012,
doi: 10.1109/TGRS.2012.2182775.
grs

from the editor (continued from page 3)
The "Education" column presents an article describing
remote sensing and geospatial science activities at Purdue University, Indiana, USA, from their beginning in
1966 to present. The article describes both the history of
remote sensing at Purdue and the leadership role that this
university has been played since the early days of optical
remote sensing.
The "Women in GRS" column presents an article
describing the goal of this column, which is to publish
articles that explore topics such as promoting networking
among women, recruiting a diverse workforce, work-life
balance, and diversity. The article also reports activities in
these areas accomplished by GRSS during 2012.

march 2013

ieee Geoscience and remote sensing magazine

The "Conference Reports" section presents an article
describing the results of a survey of participants of IGARSS
2012, held in Munich, Germany on July 22-27. IGARSS is
the premier conference organized by the IEEE GRSS.
Finally, I would like to draw your attention to the various calls for nominations and calls for papers in this issue.
I wish you an enjoyable and productive spring season.

Sincerely,
Lorenzo Bruzzone
Editor-in-Chief
lorenzo.bruzzone@disi.unitn.it
GRS

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - March 2013