Numerical simulation of the full-polarimetric emissivity of vines and comparison with experimental

Surface soil moisture is a key variable needed to understand and predict the climate. L-band microwave radiometry seems to be the best technique to remotely measure the soil moisture content, since the influence of other effects such as surface roughness and vegetation is comparatively small. This w...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martínez Vazquez, Alberto, Camps Carmona, Adriano José|||0000-0002-9514-4992, López-Sánchez, Juan Manuel, Vall-Llossera Ferran, Mercedes Magdalena|||0000-0003-1357-7098, Monerris Belda, Alessandra
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2009
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/7624
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/7624
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs1030300
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Signal theory (Telecommunication)
Polarimetric
Senyal, Teoria del (Telecomunicació)
Electromagnetisme
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Radiocomunicació i exploració electromagnètica
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Processament del senyal
Descripción
Sumario:Surface soil moisture is a key variable needed to understand and predict the climate. L-band microwave radiometry seems to be the best technique to remotely measure the soil moisture content, since the influence of other effects such as surface roughness and vegetation is comparatively small. This work describes a numerical model developed to efficiently compute the four elements of the Stokes emission vector (Th, Tv, TU and TV) of vegetation-covered soils at low microwave frequencies, as well as the single-scattering albedo and the extinction coefficient of the vegetation layer over a wide range of incidence angles. A comparison with L-band (1.400–1.427 MHz) experimental radiometric data gathered during the SMOS REFLEX 2003 field experiment over vines is presented and discussed. The measured and simulated emissivities at vertical polarization agree very well. However, at horizontal polarization there is some disagreement introduced by the soil emission model. Important radiometric parameters, such as the albedo, the attenuation and the transmissivity are computed and analyzed in terms of their values and trends, as well as their dependence on the observation and scene parameters. It is found that the vegetation attenuation is mainly driven by the presence of branches and leaves, while the albedo is mainly driven by the branches. The comparison of the simulated parameters with the values obtained by fitting the experimental data with the τ-ω model is very satisfactory.