Airborne gamma radiation measurements of soil moisture during FIFE: Activities and results

Soil moisture measurements were obtained during the summer of 1987 and 1989 near Manhattan, Kansas, using the National Weather Service (NWS) airborne gamma radiation system. A network of 24 flight lines were established over the research area. Airborne surveys were flown daily during two intensive field campaigns. The data collected was sufficient to modify the NWS standard operational method for estimating soil moisture for the Field Experiment (FIFE) flight lines. The average root mean square error of the soil moisture estimates for shorter FIFE flight lines was found to be 2.5 percent, compared with a reported value of 3.9 percent for NWS flight lines. Techniques were developed to compute soil moisture estimates for portions of the flight lines. Results of comparisons of the airborne gamma radiation soil moisture estimates with those obtained using the NASA Pushbroom Microwave Radiation (PBMR) system and hydrological model are presented. The airborne soil moisture measurements, and real averages computed using all remotely sensed and ground data, have been in support of the research of the many FIFE investigators whose overall goal was the upscale integration of models and the application of satellite remote sensing.