On the Soil Roughness Parameterization Problem in Soil Moisture Retrieval of Bare Surfaces from Synthetic Aperture Radar
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 15 July 2008
- Vol. 8 (7), 4213-4248
- https://doi.org/10.3390/s8074213
Abstract
Synthetic Aperture Radar has shown its large potential for retrieving soil moisture maps at regional scales. However, since the backscattered signal is determined by several surface characteristics, the retrieval of soil moisture is an ill-posed problem when using single configuration imagery. Unless accurate surface roughness parameter values are available, retrieving soil moisture from radar backscatter usually provides inaccurate estimates. The characterization of soil roughness is not fully understood, and a large range of roughness parameter values can be obtained for the same surface when different measurement methodologies are used. In this paper, a literature review is made that summarizes the problems encountered when parameterizing soil roughness as well as the reported impact of the errors made on the retrieved soil moisture. A number of suggestions were made for resolving issues in roughness parameterization and studying the impact of these roughness problems on the soil moisture retrieval accuracy and scale.Keywords
This publication has 104 references indexed in Scilit:
- Influence of Surface Roughness Spatial Variability and Temporal Dynamics on the Retrieval of Soil Moisture from SAR ObservationsSensors, 2009
- Soil surface roughness measurement—methods, applicability, and surface representationCATENA, 2005
- Fractal scaling of surface roughness in artificially weathered smectite-rich soil regolithsGeoderma, 2003
- SAR imagery to estimate roughness parameters when modelling runoff riskInternational Journal of Remote Sensing, 1999
- The integral equation model and surface roughness signatures in soil moisture and tillage type determinationIEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 1998
- Soil moisture estimation with ERS-1 SAR data in the East-German loess soil areaInternational Journal of Remote Sensing, 1998
- Radar mapping of surface soil moistureJournal of Hydrology, 1996
- Basic soil surface characteristics derived from active microwave remote sensingRemote Sensing Reviews, 1993
- On the contribution of volume scattering to the microwave backscattered signal from wet snow and wet soilInternational Journal of Remote Sensing, 1987
- Spatial and temporal behaviour of a large agricultural area as observed from airborne C-band scatterometer and thermal infrared radiometerInternational Journal of Remote Sensing, 1987