SenSE: Community SAR ScattEring model

This acts to archive SenSE used for publication in the Journal of Open Source Software (JOSS).

SenSE is a comprehensive community framework designed for radiative transfer (RT) modeling in the active microwave domain. It summarizes various RT models developed for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to simulate backscatter responses from open soil and vegetated land surfaces, primarily in agricultural settings. This integration encompasses different models for scattering and emission across various surfaces, providing a cohesive operational structure.

One of the framework’s most significant advantages is its modular design, which allows for the easy substitution and analysis of different surface and canopy scattering models within a single system. This flexibility facilitates seamless model exchange, enhancing the framework’s adaptability and utility. The SenSE package currently includes several surface models such as Oh92 (Oh et al., 1992), Oh04 (Oh, 2004), Dubois95 (Dubois et al., 1995), IEM (Fung et al., 1992), and the surface component of the Water Cloud Model (WCM) (Attema & Ulaby, 1978). For canopy modeling, it supports models like SSRT (Ulaby & Long, 2014) and WCM (Attema & Ulaby, 1978).