Review of: “Glaciers-Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions”. Edited by V. M. KOTLYAKOV,A. USHAKOV and A. GLAZOVSKY,Proceedings of the International Symposium,St Petersburg, 24-29 September 1990 (Wallingford,UK: IAHS Press, 1991.) [Pp. 549.] Price US$60.

Data gathered during the NASA sponsored Multisensor Aircraft Campaign Hydrology (MACHYDRO) experiment in central Pennsylvania (U.S.A.) in July, 1990 have been analysed to study the combined use of active and passive microwave sensors for estimating soil moisture from vegetated areas. These data sets were obtained during an eleven-day period with NASA's Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AIRSAR), and Push-Broom Microwave Radiometer (PBMR) over an instrumented watershed, which included agricultural fields with a number of different crop covers. Simultaneous ground truth measurements were also made in order to characterize the state of vegetation and soil moisture under a variety of meteorological conditions. Various multi-sensor techniques are currently under investigation to improve the accuracy of remote sensing estimates of the soil moisture in the presence of vegetation and surface roughness conditions using these data sets. One such algorithm involving combination of active and passive microwave sensors is presented here, and is applied to representative corn fields in the Mahantango watershed that was the focus of study during the MACHYDRO experiment. In this algorithm, a simple emission model is inverted to obtain Fresnel reflectivity in terms of ground and vegetation parameters. Since Fresnel reflectivity depends on soil dielectric constant, soil moisture is determined from reflectivity using dielectric-soil moisture relations. The algorithm requires brightness temperature, vegetation and ground parameters as the input parameters. The former is measured by a passive microwave technique and the later two are estimated by using active microwave techniques. The soil moisture estimates obtained by this combined use of active and passive microwave remote sensing techniques, show an excellent agreement with the in situ soil moisture measurements made during the MACHYDRO experiment.     

青藏高原L波段微波辐射观测与土壤水分反演研究进展

土壤水分是地气间水热交换的重要变量,影响着地表感热潜热划分、水分收支和植被蒸腾等过程,青藏高原土壤水分的研究对于改进高原水分循环和能量平衡的模拟研究具有重要意义。随着SMOS、SMAP等卫星的发射,L波段被动微波遥感技术成为大尺度监测土壤水分的主要手段。分别从L波段星—机—地观测与微波辐射模拟、区域尺度土壤水分观测、卫星产品评估与土壤水分反演算法发展等方面系统回顾和总结了近年来L波段被动微波遥感及其土壤水分反演算法、产品在青藏高原的主要应用与研究进展。在此基础上,归纳了当前高原L波段被动微波辐射模拟与土壤水分反演存在的问题,主要包括缺乏高原尺度的微波辐射模拟评估和改进的卫星土壤水分产品、土壤冻结时期的水分监测产品依然缺失等问题。针对存在的问题,进一步提出了相关建议与展望,建议今后的研究应加强高原尺度的微波辐射模拟评估与土壤水分产品改进工作,并积极拓展土壤水分产品在高原水分循环和能量平衡模拟、植被生长与干旱监测的应用研究。     

微波遥感土壤湿度研究进展

发展实用的微波遥感土壤湿度卫星反演算法,以提供区域尺度上的土壤湿度信息,对水文学、气象学以及农业科学研究与应用至关重要。简要分析了主动微波遥感土壤湿度的研究进展情况,重点对被动微波遥感土壤湿度的原理、算法发展及研究趋势进行了详细论述。主动微波具有卫星数据空间分辨率高的特点,随着携载主动微波器的一系列卫星的发射,主动微波遥感土壤湿度将受到重视。被动微波遥感研究历史长、反演算法特别是卫星遥感算比较成熟,是今后区域尺度乃至全球尺度监测土壤湿度的重要手段。     

Land cover-based optimal deconvolution of PALS L-band microwave brightness temperatures

An optimal deconvolution (ODC) technique has been developed to estimate microwave brightness temperatures of agricultural fields using microwave radiometer observations. The technique is applied to airborne measurements taken by the Passive and Active L and S band (PALS) sensor in Iowa during Soil Moisture Experiments in 2002 (SMEX02). Agricultural fields in the study area were predominantly soybeans and corn. The brightness temperatures of corn and soybeans were observed to be significantly different because of large differences in vegetation biomass. PALS observations have significant over-sampling; observations were made about 100 m apart and the sensor footprint extends to about 400 m. Conventionally, observations of this type are averaged to produce smooth spatial data fields of brightness temperatures. However, the conventional approach is in contrast to reality in which the brightness temperatures are in fact strongly dependent on land cover, which is characterized by sharp boundaries. In this study, we mathematically deconvolve the observations into brightness temperature at the field scale (500-800 m) using the sensor antenna response function. The result is more accurate spatial representation of field-scale brightness temperatures, which may in turn lead to more accurate soil moisture retrieval.     

被动微波遥感反演土壤水分进展研究

在地球系统中, 地表土壤水分是陆地和大气能量交换过程中的重要因子, 并对陆地表面蒸散、水的运移、碳循环有很强的控制作用, 大面积监测土壤水分在水文、气象和农业科学领域具有较大的应用潜力。被动微波遥感是监测土壤含水量最有效的手段之一, 相比红外与可见光, 它具有波长长, 穿透能力强的优势, 相比主动微波雷达, 被动微波辐射计具有监测面积大、周期短, 受粗糙度影响小, 对土壤水分更为敏感, 算法更为成熟的优势。然而微波辐射计观测到的亮温除了受土壤水分影响外, 还要考虑如植被覆盖、土壤温度、雪覆盖以及地形、地表粗糙度、土壤纹理和大气效应以及地表的异质性等其它因子的影响。目前, 已研究出许多使用被动微波辐射计反演土壤水分的方法,这些方法大部分是围绕着土壤湿度与亮温温度之间的关系进行, 同时也考虑其它各种不同因子对 地表微波辐射的影响。从介绍被动微波反演地表参数的原理入手, 重点介绍被动遥感反演土壤水分当前的算法进展、研究趋势等。     

Soil Moisture Retrieval over Vegetated Areas based on Sentinel-1 and FY-3C Data

This study aims to develop soil moisture retrieval model over vegetated areas based on Sentinel-1 SAR and FY-3C data.In order to remove vegetation effect,the MWRI data from FY-3C was applied to establish the inversion model of vegetation water content.The model was combined with the original water-cloud model,and developing a soil moisture retrieval model by combining active and passive microwave remote sensing data.Finally,the experiment of the soil moisture retrieval was conducted in Jiangsu and Anhui province,and validating the inversion accuracy of soil moisture by measured data.The results showed that：①For the vegetation-covered surface,the Microwave Polarization Difference Index obtain from FY-3C/MWRI was suitable for removing vegetation effect.②Compared with the Sentinel-1 VH polarization data,the backscattering coefficient of VV polarization was more suitable for soil moisture retrieval and get a higher accuracy of soil moisture retrieval.③Sentinel\|1 data can obtain high precision soil moisture estimation results,and the correlation coefficient between the estimated and measured soil moisture is 0.561 2 and RMSE is 0.044 cm³/cm³.     

Soil moisture mapping and AMSR-E validation using the PSR in SMEX02

Field experiments (SMEX02) were conducted to evaluate the effects of dense agricultural crop conditions on soil moisture retrieval using passive microwave remote sensing. Aircraft observations were collected using a new version of the Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer (PSR) that provided four C band and four X band frequencies. Observations were also available from the Aqua satellite Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) at these same frequencies. SMEX02 was conducted over a three-week period during the summer near Ames, Iowa. Corn and soybeans dominate the region. During the study period the corn was approaching its peak water content state and the soybeans were at the mid point of the growth cycle. Aircraft observations are compared to ground observations. Subsequently models are developed to describe the effects of corn and soybeans on soil moisture retrieval. Multiple altitude aircraft brightness temperatures were compared to AMSR-E observations to understand brightness temperature scaling and provide validation. The X-band observations from the two sensors were in reasonable agreement. The AMSR-E C-band observations were contaminated with anthropogenic RFI, which made comparison to the PSR invalid. Aircraft data along with ancillary data were used in a retrieval algorithm to map soil moisture. The PSR estimated soil moisture retrievals on a field-by-field comparison had a standard error of estimate (SEE) of 5.5%. The error reduced when high altitude soil moisture estimates were aggregated to 25 km resolution (same as AMSR-E EASE grid product resolution) (SEE ∼ 2.85%). These soil moisture products provide a validation of the AMSR retrievals. PSR/CX soil moisture images show spatial and temporal patterns consistent with meteorological and soil conditions. The dynamic range of the PSR/CX observations indicates that reasonable soil moisture estimates can be obtained from AMSR, even in areas of high vegetation biomass content (∼ 4-8 kg/m2).     

Effects of sub-pixel heterogeneity on the retrieval of soil moisture from passive microwave radiometry

A simple formulation relating the L-band microwave brightness temperature detected by a passive microwave radiometer to the near surface soil moisture was developed using MICRO-SWEAT, a coupled microwave emission model and soil-vegetation-atmosphere-transfer (SVAT) scheme. This simple model provides an ideal tool with which to explore the impact of sub-pixel heterogeneity on the retrieval of soil moisture from microwave brightness temperatures. In the case of a bare soil pixel, the relationship between apparent emissivity and surface soil moisture is approximately linear, with the clay content of the soil influencing just the intercept of this relationship. It is shown that there are no errors in the retrieved soil moisture from a bare soil pixel that is heterogeneous in soil moisture and texture. However, in the case of a vegetated pixel, the slope of the relationship between apparent emissivity and surface soil moisture decreases with increasing vegetation. Therefore for a pixel that is heterogeneous in vegetation and soil moisture, errors can be introduced into the retrieved soil moisture. Generally, under moderate conditions, the retrieved soil moisture is within 3% of the actual soil moisture. Examples illustrating this discussion use data collected during the Southern Great Plains '97 Experiment (SGP97).     

Evaluation of Soil Moisture Retrieval Algorithms based on Ground-based Microwave Radiation Observation

The commonly used passive microwave soil moisture inversion algorithms include Single Channel Algorithm at H polarization (SCA-H), Single Channel Algorithm at V polarization (SCA-V), Dual-Channel Algorithm (DCA), Microwave Polarization Ratio Algorithm (MPRA) and Extended Dual Channel Algorithm (E-DCA). The five retrieval algorithms have different performance, systematic evaluation and analysis of these inversion algorithms will contribute to the improvement of the retrieval algorithm and the release of satellite soil moisture products. Verification of satellite product could bring some problems, such as scale matching and spatial heterogeneity. In order to avoid these issues, the above five soil moisture inversion algorithms are implemented, compared and analyzed based on ground-based microwave radiometer observation and supporting soil and vegetation parameter measurement data. The results show: (1) SCA has the best inversion performance. SCA-H has the highest correlation (R=0.83), and SCA-V has the smallest inversion error (RMSE=0.028 m³/m³, BIAS=-0.011 m³/m³), but SCA needs the accurate vegetation water content as an input. (2) The other three algorithms can get rid of the use of vegetation-aided data, with slightly poor performance but also meet the satellite detection requirements (less than or equal to 0.04 m³/m³). Among them, E-DCA and MPRA are slightly worse than the DCA. However, E-DCA is more advantageous in the vegetation water content inversion in our study.     

基于地基微波辐射观测的土壤水分反演算法评估

当前常用的被动微波土壤水分反演算法有水平极化单通道算法、垂直极化单通道算法、双通道算法、微波极化差比值算法和扩展双通道算法,5种反演算法具有不同的差异,对这些反演算法进行系统的评估和分析将有助于反演算法的改进和星载高精度土壤水分产品的发布。为了避免直接采用卫星产品验证时的尺度匹配、空间异质性等问题,基于地基L波段微波辐射观测以及配套的土壤和植被参数测量数据,对这5种反演算法进行了实现、对比和分析,得出以下结论：①单通道算法具有最佳的反演性能,水平极化单通道算法反演结果具有最高的相关性(相关性系数R=0.83),垂直极化单通道算法反演结果具有最小的反演误差(均方根误差RMSE=0.028 m³/m³,偏差BIAS= -0.011 m³/m³),但单通道算法需要精确的植被含水量输入;②其余3种算法能脱离植被辅助数据的使用,性能略差但也能满足星载微波传感器的探测指标要求(小于等于0.04 m³/m³);其中,扩展双通道算法和微波极化差比值算法的土壤水分反演结果比双通道算法略差,但本例中扩展双通道算法在植被含水量反演方面更具优势。     

Retrieving near-surface soil moisture from microwave radiometric observations: current status and future plans

Surface soil moisture is a key variable used to describe water and energy exchanges at the land surface/atmosphere interface. Passive microwave remotely sensed data have great potential for providing estimates of soil moisture with good temporal repetition on a daily basis and on a regional scale (∼10 km). However, the effects of vegetation cover, soil temperature, snow cover, topography, and soil surface roughness also play a significant role in the microwave emission from the surface. Different soil moisture retrieval approaches have been developed to account for the various parameters contributing to the surface microwave emission. Four main types of algorithms can be roughly distinguished depending on the way vegetation and temperature effects are accounted for. These algorithms are based on (i) land cover classification maps, (ii) ancillary remote sensing indexes, and (iii) two-parameter or (iv) three-parameter retrievals (in this case, soil moisture, vegetation optical depth, and effective surface temperature are retrieved simultaneously from the microwave observations). Methods (iii) and (iv) are based on multiconfiguration observations, in terms of frequency, polarization, or view angle. They appear to be very promising as very few ancillary information are required in the retrieval process. This paper reviews these various methods for retrieving surface soil moisture from microwave radiometric systems. The discussion highlights key issues that will have to be addressed in the near future to secure operational use of the proposed retrieval approaches.     

被动微波遥感土壤水分反演研究综述

由于微波具有全天候、穿透性以及不受云的影响等特征,使其在遥感研究全球变化中具有越来越大的优势。在微波传感器技术发展的过程中,人们通过研究发现被动微波遥感是反演土壤水分的各种技术中最有效的方法之一,而植被覆盖地区的土壤水分反演是反演算法中的难点。简略地介绍针对裸地的Q/P模型和针对植被的τ-ω模型,以及主要土壤水分反演算法。     

A combined passive/active microwave remote sensing approach for surface variable retrieval using Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission observations

The backscattering and emission measured simultaneously by radar and radiometer show promise for the estimation of surface variables such as near-surface soil moisture and vegetation characteristics. In this paper, the 10.7 GHz Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) microwave imager (TMI) channel and 13.8 GHz precipitation radar (PR) observations are simultaneously used for the estimation of the near-surface soil moisture and vegetation properties. The Fresnel model for soil and a simple model for vegetation are used to simulate the passive microwave emission at 10.7 GHz. To determine the PR backscatter signal from a land surface, a theoretical approach is used based on the Geometric Optics Model for simulating bare soil and a semi-empirical water-cloud model for vegetation. The model parameters required in specifying the nature of the soil and vegetation are calibrated on the basis of in situ soil moisture data combined with remotely sensed observations. The calibrated model is subsequently used to retrieve near-surface soil moisture and leaf area index for assumed values of surface roughness and temperature. Algorithm assessment using synthetic passive and active microwave data shows a nonlinearity effect in the system inversion, which results in a varying degree of error statistics in soil wetness and vegetation characteristics retrieval. The technique was applied on TRMM radar/radiometer observations from three consecutive years and evaluated against in situ near-surface (5 cm) soil moisture measurements from the Oklahoma Mesonet showing a consistent performance.     

A microwave vegetation water index from passive microwave radiometer data

The vegetation water content (VWC) index has been widely used in agriculture, forestry and hydrology studies. It is also useful in retrieving soil moisture from microwave remote sensing observations. Space‐borne and airborne microwave radiometers have widespread utility in soil moisture and vegetation condition retrieval. To simplify the original retrieval algorithm, this paper developed a theoretical microwave vegetation water index (MVWI) from microwave radiometer data, which contains only VWC and a vegetation structure parameter. Based on the MVWI, an efficient VWC retrieval algorithm was developed.     

Vegetation water content mapping using Landsat data derived normalized difference water index for corn and soybeans

Information about vegetation water content (VWC) has widespread utility in agriculture, forestry, and hydrology. It is also useful in retrieving soil moisture from microwave remote sensing observations. Providing a VWC estimate allows us to control a degree of freedom in the soil moisture retrieval process. However, these must be available in a timely fashion in order to be of value to routine applications, especially soil moisture retrieval. As part of the Soil Moisture Experiments 2002 (SMEX02), the potential of using satellite spectral reflectance measurements to map and monitor VWC for corn and soybean canopies was evaluated. Landsat Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus data and ground-based VWC measurements were used to establish relationships based on remotely sensed indices. The two indices studied were the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI). The NDVI saturated during the study period while the NDWI continued to reflect changes in VWC. NDWI was found to be superior based upon a quantitative analysis of bias and standard error. The method developed was used to map daily VWC for the watershed over the 1-month experiment period. It was also extended to a larger regional domain. In order to develop more robust and operational methods, we need to look at how we can utilize the MODIS instruments on the Terra and Aqua platforms, which can provide daily temporal coverage.     

Evaluation of the SMOS L-MEB passive microwave soil moisture retrieval algorithm

Soil moisture will be mapped globally by the European Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission to be launched in 2009. The expected soil moisture accuracy will be 4.0 %v/v. The core component of the SMOS soil moisture retrieval algorithm is the L-band Microwave Emission of the Biosphere (L-MEB) model which simulates the microwave emission at L-band from the soil-vegetation layer. The model parameters have been calibrated with data acquired by tower mounted radiometer studies in Europe and the United States, with a typical footprint size of approximately 10 m. In this study, aircraft L-band data acquired during the National Airborne Field Experiment (NAFE) intensive campaign held in South-eastern Australia in 2005 are used to perform the first evaluation of the L-MEB model and its proposed parameterization when applied to coarser footprints (62.5 m). The model could be evaluated across large areas including a wide range of land surface conditions, typical of the Australian environment. Soil moisture was retrieved from the aircraft brightness temperatures using L-MEB and ground measured ancillary data (soil temperature, soil texture, vegetation water content and surface roughness) and subsequently evaluated against ground measurements of soil moisture. The retrieval accuracy when using the L-MEB ‘default’ set of model parameters was found to be better than 4.0 %v/v only over grassland covered sites. Over crops the model was found to underestimate soil moisture by up to 32 %v/v. After site specific calibration of the vegetation and roughness parameters, the retrieval accuracy was found to be equal or better than 4.8 %v/v for crops and grasslands at 62.5-m resolution. It is suggested that the proposed value of roughness parameter H_R for crops is too low, and that variability of H_R with soil moisture must be taken into consideration to obtain accurate retrievals at these scales. The analysis presented here is a crucial step towards validating the application of L-MEB for soil moisture retrieval from satellite observations in an operational context.     

Semi-empirical regressions at L-band applied to surface soil moisture retrievals over grass

The L-band brightness temperature of natural grass fields is strongly influenced by rainfall interception. In wet conditions, the contribution of the soil, mulch, and vegetation to the overall microwave emission is difficult to decouple, thus rendering the retrieval of surface soil moisture from a direct emission model difficult. This paper investigates the development and assesses the performances of statistical regressions linking passive microwave measurements to surface soil moisture in order to assess the potential of soil moisture retrievals over natural grass. First, statistical regressions were analytically derived from the L-Band Emission of the Biosphere model (L-MEB). Single configuration (1 angle, 1 polarisation), and multi-configuration regressions (2 angles, or 2 polarisations) were developed. Second, the performance of statistical regressions was evaluated under different rainfall interception conditions. For that purpose, a modified polarisation ratio at L-band was used to build three data sets with different interception levels. In the presence of interception, a regression based on one observation angle (50°) and two polarisations was able to reduce the effects of vegetation and soil roughness on the soil moisture retrievals. The methodology presented in this study is also able to provide estimates of the vegetation and soil roughness contribution to the brightness temperature.     

Impact of surface heterogeneity on surface soil moisture retrievals from passive microwave data at the regional scale: The Upper Danube case

Water and energy fluxes at the interface between the land surface and atmosphere are strongly depending on the surface soil moisture content which is highly variable in space and time. The sensitivity of active and passive microwave remote sensing data to surface soil moisture content has been investigated in numerous studies. Recent satellite borne mission concepts, as e.g. the SMOS mission, are dedicated to provide global soil moisture information with a temporal frequency of 1-3 days to capture it's high temporal dynamics. Passive satellite microwave sensors have spatial resolutions in the order of tens of kilometres. The retrieved soil moisture fields from that sensors therefore represent surface information which is integrated over large areas. It has been shown that the heterogeneity within an image pixel might have considerable impact on the accuracy of soil moisture retrievals from passive microwave data.The paper investigates the impact of land surface heterogeneity on soil moisture retrievals from L-band passive microwave data at different spatial scales between 1 km and 40 km. The impact of sensor noise and quality of ancillary information is explicitly considered. A synthetic study is conducted where brightness temperature observations are generated using simulated land surface conditions. Soil moisture information is retrieved from these simulated observations using an iterative approach based on multiangular observations of brightness temperature. The soil moisture retrieval uncertainties resulting from the heterogeneity within the image pixels as well as the uncertainties in the a priori knowledge of surface temperature data and due to sensor noise, is investigated at different spatial scales. The investigations are made for a heterogeneous hydrological catchment in Southern Germany (Upper Danube) which is dedicated to serve as a calibration and validation site for the SMOS mission.     

Assessment of the AMSR-E soil moisture product over India

Soil moisture is a very important boundary parameter in numerical weather prediction at different spatial and temporal scales, controlling the exchange of water and energy between the atmosphere and land surface. Satellite-based microwave radiometric observations are considered to be the best for soil moisture remote sensing because of their high sensitivity, as well as their all-weather and day–night observation capabilities with high repeativity. In this study, an attempt has been made to assess the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer--Earth Observing System (AMSR-EOS) soil moisture product over India. The AMSR-E soil moisture product has been assessed using in situ soil moisture observations made by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) during the monsoon period (May–August) for the years 2002–2006 over 18 meteorological stations. Apart from assessing AMSR-E soil moisture retrieval accuracy, this study also investigates the effect of vegetation, topography and coastal water contamination, and determines the regions where the AMSR-E soil moisture product could be useful for different applications.