volume | PIER Journals

Abstract

The distorted Born approximation (DBA) of volume scattering was previously combined with the numerical solution of Maxwell equations (NMM3D) for rough surfaces to calculate radar backscattering coefficients for the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. The model results were validated with the Soil Moisture Active Passive Validation Experiment 2012 (SMAPVEX12) data. In this paper, we extend the existing model to calculate the bistatic scattering coefficients for each of the three scattering mechanisms: volume, double bounce and surface scattering. Emissivities are calculated by integrating the bistatic scattering coefficients over the hemispherical solid angle. The backscattering coefficients and emissivities calculated using this approach form a consistent model for combined active and passive microwave remote sensing. This has the advantage that the active and passive microwave remote sensing models are founded on the same theoretical basis and hence allow the use of the same physical parameters such as crop density, plant height, stalk orientation, leaf radius, and surface roughness, amongst others. In this paper, this combined active and passive model is applied to four vegetation types to calculate both backscattering coefficients and brightness temperature: wheat, winter wheat, pasture and canola. This model uses a single-scattering and incoherent vegetation model, which is applicable for the vegetation fields studied in this paper but not suitable for vegetation types where collective scattering or multiple scattering effects are important. We demonstrate the use of the DBA/NMM3D for both active and passive using the same input parameters for matching active and passive coincident data. The model results are validated using coincident airborne Passive Active L-band System (PALS) low-altitude radiometer data and Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) data taken during the SMAPVEX12 field campaign. Results show an average root mean squared error (RMSE) of 1.04 dB and 1.21 dB for backscatter at VV and HH, respectively, and 4.65 K and 6.44 K for brightness temperature at V-pol and H-pol, respectively. The results are comparable to those from the tau-omega model which is commonly used to compute the brightness temperature, though the physical parameters used in this model are different from the empirically adjusted parameters used in the tau-omega model.

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Dr. Huanting Huang

Dr. Tien-Hao Liao

Professor Leung Tsang

Dr. Eni Gerald Njoku

Dr. Andreas Colliander

Professor Thomas J. Jackson

Dr. Mariko Burgin

Dr. Simon Yueh