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Remote sensing of soil moisture with microwave radiometersResults are presented that were derived from measurements made by microwave radiometers during the March 1972 and February 1973 flights of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Convair-9900 aircraft over agricultural test sites in the southwestern part of United States. The purpose of the missions was to study the use of microwave radiometers for the remote sensing of soil moisture. The microwave radiometers covered the 0.8- to 21-cm wavelength range. The results show a good linear correlation between the observed microwave brightness temperature and moisture content of the 0- to 1-cm layer of the soil. The results at the largest wavelength (21 cm) show the greatest sensitivity to soil moisture variations and indicate the possibility of sensing these variations through a vegetative canopy. The effect of soil texture on the emission from the soil was also studied and it was found that this effect can be compensated for by expressing soil moisture as a percent of field capacity for the soil. The results were compared with calculations based on a radiative transfer model for layered dielectrics and the agreement is very good at the longer wavelengths. At the shorter wavelengths, surface roughness effects are larger and the agreement becomes poorer.
Document ID
19760025537
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Other - NASA Technical Note (TN)
Authors
Schmugge, T. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Wilheit, T. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Webster, W., Jr. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Gloerson, P. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
September 3, 2013
Publication Date
September 1, 1976
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Report/Patent Number
G-76114
NASA-TN-D-8321
Report Number: G-76114
Report Number: NASA-TN-D-8321
Accession Number
76N32625
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 177-51-41
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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