Soil moisture algorithm validation using data from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) in Mongolia

New satellite-based low frequency microwave radiometers are being evaluated for estimating soil moisture. These include the Advance Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) instruments on the NASA Aqua satellite and the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS-II). Although there have been satellite instruments in space previously with these frequencies, the AMSR programs include the first ever commitments to providing a soil moisture product. As part of its algorithm selection process, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been evaluating four different soil moisture algorithm approaches including a single channel method. This algorithm was evaluated here using validation data collected in Mongolia. Data quality issues, approaches to validation and algorithm performance are analyzed and discussed. Overall, the algorithm performed as expected based upon previous research.

[1]  T. Schmugge,et al.  Vegetation effects on the microwave emission of soils , 1991 .

[2]  Todd H. Skaggs,et al.  Spatio-temporal evolution and time-stable characteristics of soil moisture within remote sensing footprints with varying soil, slope, and vegetation , 2001 .

[3]  R.A.M. de Jeu,et al.  Retrieval of Land Surface Parameters using Passive Microwave Remote Sensing , 2003 .

[4]  C. Justice,et al.  Development of vegetation and soil indices for MODIS-EOS , 1994 .

[5]  Thomas J. Jackson,et al.  Soil moisture mapping at regional scales using microwave radiometry: the Southern Great Plains Hydrology Experiment , 1999, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[6]  B. Choudhury,et al.  Effect of surface roughness on the microwave emission from soils , 1979 .

[7]  T. Jackson,et al.  III. Measuring surface soil moisture using passive microwave remote sensing , 1993 .

[8]  G. Vachaud,et al.  Temporal Stability of Spatially Measured Soil Water Probability Density Function , 1985 .

[9]  Thomas J. Jackson,et al.  Soil moisture retrieval from AMSR-E , 2003, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[10]  T. Schmugge,et al.  An Empirical Model for the Complex Dielectric Permittivity of Soils as a Function of Water Content , 1980, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[11]  Simonetta Paloscia,et al.  Soil moisture algorithm development and validation for the ADEOS-II/AMSR , 2000, IGARSS 2000. IEEE 2000 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. Taking the Pulse of the Planet: The Role of Remote Sensing in Managing the Environment. Proceedings (Cat. No.00CH37120).