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Soil Moisture Detection with Imaging Radars
Author(s) -
Macdonald Harold C.,
Waite William P.
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr007i001p00100
Subject(s) - water content , environmental science , remote sensing , radar , permafrost , radar imaging , terrain , soil science , geology , geotechnical engineering , geography , computer science , telecommunications , oceanography , cartography
The high degree of correlation between the electrical properties of soil and soil moisture content are well known. Considerable experimental work has been conducted by using radar for the determination of soil moisture. However, in the transition from a controlled measurement device to an operational imaging radar, the effects of soil moisture have been extremely difficult to separate from other terrain parameters influencing the radar return signal. The data presented in this study suggest that presently available dual polarized, K ‐band, side‐looking imaging radars provide a capability for revealing a qualitative estimate of soil moisture content. When used as a supplement to aerial photography in temperate climates, radar imagery analysis will decrease the ambiguity of soil type reconnaissance. In the Arctic, an imaging radar may provide data for mapping regions of permafrost, and this process could be accomplished in a sequential manner regardless of weather or time of day. The use of additional multifrequency multipolarization imaging radars and the relative foliage penetration of each should be investigated as a possible means of gathering quantitative soil moisture information.