Aircraft scatterometer observations of soil moisture on rangeland watershedsExtensive studies conducted by several researchers using truck-mounted active microwave sensors have shown the sensitivity of these sensors to soil moisture variations. The logical extension of these results is the evaluation of similar systems at lower resolutions typical of operational systems. Data collected during a series of aircraft flights in 1978 and 1980 over four rangeland watersheds located near Chickasha, Oklahoma, were analyzed in this study. These data included scatterometer measurements made at 1.6 and 4.75 GHz using a NASA aircraft and ground observations of soil moisture for a wide range of moisture conditions. Data were analyzed for consistency and compared to previous truck and aircraft results. Results indicate that the sensor system is capable of providing consistent estimates of soil moisture under the conditions tested.
Document ID
19840050551
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Jackson, T. J. (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Hydrology Laboratory, Beltsville MD, United States)
Oneill, P. E. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)