Applications of passive microwave observations of surface soil moisture

Author

Schmugge, Thomas

Author_Institution

USDA-ARS Hydrology Lab., Beltsville, MD, USA

Volume

2

fYear

1996

fDate

27-31 May 1996

Firstpage

1051

Abstract

In large scale field experiments over the past 10 years, long wavelength microwave radiometers have been used to map surface soil moisture with considerable success. These experiments, which include PIPE (87 & 89), Monsoon 90, Washita 92 and 94, and HAPEX-Sahel, covered a wide range of climatic regimes. The results from all of them have shown that the microwave emission at the 21-cm wavelength is a strong function of surface (0 to 5-cm) soil moisture. The salient results from these experiments are presented and compared. The use of the surface soil moisture data to determine geophysical parameters such as evaporative fraction, soil evaporation and soil hydraulic properties are discussed

Keywords

UHF measurement; geophysical techniques; hydrological techniques; moisture measurement; radiometry; remote sensing; soil; 21 cm; UHF radiometry; evaporation; evaporative fraction; hydraulic properties; hydrology; measurement technique; microwave emission; microwave radiometry; passive microwave observations; remote sensing; soil moisture; surface soil moisture; water content; Brightness temperature; Hydrology; Large-scale systems; Radiometers; Rough surfaces; Soil measurements; Soil moisture; Surface roughness; Surface soil; Surface waves;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 1996. IGARSS '96. 'Remote Sensing for a Sustainable Future.', International

Conference_Location

Lincoln, NE

Print_ISBN

0-7803-3068-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IGARSS.1996.516563

Filename

516563