Microwave radiometric measurements of hydrological parameters in mountain areas

In this paper, an experiment aimed at investigating the water balance after soil thawing and the radiation budget is described. The experiment was carried out by combining microwave remote sensing measurements with ground and meteorological data. The higher frequencies were found to be very sensitive to the characteristics of snow, whereas the lower ones were much more influenced by the soil conditions. The sensitivity to soil moisture was well demonstrated at L-band, although the soil was covered by a thick layer of grass, and, to a minor extent, also at C-band.