volume | PIER Journals

Abstract

Estimation of soil moisture using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) backscatter values, over agricultural area, is still difficult. SAR backscatter is sensitive to the surface properties like roughness, crop cover, and soil type, along with its strong sensitivity to the soil moisture. Hence, to develop a methodology for agricultural area soil moisture estimation using SAR, it is necessary to incorporate the effects of crop cover and soil texture in the soil moisture retrieval model. A field experiment was conducted by the authors and used along with Sentinel 1A SAR data to estimate the soil moisture in the paddy agricultural fields. Generally, water used for irrigation in the study region was obtained from ground water. As in the hot climate conditions ground water level would be reduced, and the water for irrigation must be supplied optimally. Hence, available soil moisture in the field was estimated from SAR data on the day of satellite passing the crop fields and utilized for deciding the amount of water to be supplied. The soil moisture values of soil samples that are collected from the agricultural field are calculated with the laboratory experiments. A soil moisture retrieval model is derived and proposed in this paper after a comparative analysis of experimental soil moisture values and satellite values. The feasibility of above model for paddy agricultural fields is validated using the field measurements.

1. Zhang, D., Z. L. Li, R. Tang, B. H. Tang, H. Wu, J. Lu, and K. Shao, "Validation of a practical normalized soil moisture model with in situ measurements in humid and semi-arid regions," International Journal Remote Sensing, Vol. 36, 5015-5030, 2015. Google Scholar

2. Abuzar, M., A. McAllister, D. Whitfield, and K. Sheffield, "Remote sensing analysis of crop water use in the macalister irrigation district," Geospatial Science Research, 1-7, 2012. Google Scholar

3. Li, Z.-X., "Modelling the passive microwave remote sensing of wet snow," Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol. 62, 143-164, 2006. Google Scholar

4. Awe, G. O., J. M. Reichert, L. C. Timm, and O. O. Wendroth, "Temporal processes of soil water status in a sugarcane field under residue management," Plant Soil, Vol. 387, 395-411, 2015. Google Scholar

5. Chen, X. Z., S. S. Chen, R. F. Zhong, Y. X. Su, J. S. Liao, D. Li, L. Han, Y. Lia, and X. A. Li, "Semi-empirical inversion model for assessing surface soil moisture using AMSR-E brightness temperatures," Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 456, 1-11, 2012. Google Scholar

6. Wigneron, J.-P., T. Schmugge, A. Chanzy, J.-C. Calvet, and Y. Kerr, "Use of passive microwave remote sensing to monitor soil moisture," Agronomie, Vol. 18, 27-43, 1998. Google Scholar

7. Barrett, B. W., E. Dwyer, and P. Whelan, "Soil moisture retrieval from active space borne microwave observations: An evaluation of current techniques," Remote Sensing, 210-242, 2019. Google Scholar

8. Das, H. P., "Satellite-based agro-advisory service," Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Agricultural Meteorology, 347-359, 2013. Google Scholar

9. Mattikalli, N. M. and E. T. Engman, "Microwave remote sensing and GIS for monitoring surface soil moisture and estimation of soil properties," Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems for Design and Operation of Water Resources on Systems, 229-236, 1997. Google Scholar

10. Fabbro, V., C. Bourlier, and P. F. Combes, "Forward propagation modeling above Gaussian rough surfaces by the parabolic wave equation: Introduction of the shadowing effect," Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol. 58, 243-269, 2006. Google Scholar

11. Skidmore, A., Environment Modelling with GIS and Remote Sensing, Taylor and Francis, ISBN: 0-415-24170-7, 2003.

12. Ulaby, F. T., P. P. Batlivala, and M. C. Dobson, "Microwave backscatter dependence on surface roughness in soil moisture and soil texture, Part I - Bare soil," IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Vol. 16, 286-295, 1978. Google Scholar

13. Dubois, P. C., J. Van Zyl, and T. Engman, "Measuring soil moisture with imaging radars," IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Vol. 33, 915-926, 1995. Google Scholar

14. Shi, J., J. Wang, A. Y. Hsu, E. O. O'neill, and E. T. Engman, "Estimation of bare surface soil moisture and surface roughness parameter using L-band SAR image data," IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Vol. 35, 1254-1266, 1997. Google Scholar

15. Gruhier, C., P. de Rosnay, S. Hasenauer, T. Holmes, R. de Jeu, Y. Kerr, E. Mougin, E. Njoku, F. Timouk, W. Wagner, and M. Zribi, "Soil moisture active and passive microwave products: Intercomparison and evaluation over a sahelian site," Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., Vol. 14, 141-156, 2010. Google Scholar

16. Ulaby, F. T., R. K. Moore, and A. K. Fung, Microwave Remote Sensing: Active and Passive, Artech House Inc., 1986.

17. Ulaby, F. T., K. Sarabandi, K. Mcdonald, and M. C. Dobson, "Michigan microwave canopy scattering model," Int. Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol. 11, 1223-1253, 1990. Google Scholar

18. Attema, E. P. W. and F. T. Ulaby, "Vegetation modeled as a water cloud," Radio Sci., Vol. 13, 357-364, 1978. Google Scholar

19. Roger, D., D. Roo, Y. Du, F. T. Ulaby, and M. C. Dobson, "A semi-empirical backscattering model at L-band and C-band for A soybean canopy with soil moisture inversion," IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Vol. 39, 864-872, 2001. Google Scholar

20. Aubert, M., N. Baghdadi, M. Zribi, A. Douaoui, C. Loumagne, F. Baup, M. El Hajj, and S. Garrigues, "Analysis of TerraSAR-X data sensitivity to bare soil moisture, roughness, composition and soil crust," Remote Sensing Environment, Vol. 115, 1801-1810, 2011. Google Scholar

21. El Hajj, M., N. Baghdadi, M. Zribi, and H. Bazzi, "Synergic use of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 images for operational soil moisture mapping at high spatial resolution over agricultural areas," Remote Sensing, Vol. 9, 1-28, 2017. Google Scholar

22. Gao, Q., M. Zribi, M. Escorihuela, and N. Baghdadi, "Synergetic use of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data for soil moisture mapping at 100 m resolution," Sensors, Vol. 17, No. 9, 1-21, 2017. Google Scholar

23. Paloscia, S., S. Pettinato, E. Santi, C. Notarnicola, L. Pasolli, and A. Reppucci, "Soil moisture mapping using Sentinel-1 images: Algorithm and preliminary validation," Remote Sensing Environment, Vol. 134, 234-248, 2013. Google Scholar

24. Zribi, M., A. Gorrab, N. Baghdadi, Z. Lili-Chabaane, and B. Mougenot, "Influence of radar frequency on the relationship between bare surface soil moisture vertical profile and radar backscatter," Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letter, Vol. 11, 848-852, IEEE, 2013. Google Scholar

25. Prakash, R., D. Singh, and N. P. Pathak, "The effect of soil texture in soil moisture retrieval for specular scattering at C-band," Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol. 108, 177-204, 2010. Google Scholar

26. Ballester-Berman, J. D., F. Vicente-Guijalba, and J. M. Lopez-Sanchez, "Polarimetric SAR model for soil moisture estimation over vineyards at C-band," Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol. 142, 639-665, 2013. Google Scholar

27. Panciera, R., M. A. Tanase, K. Lowell, and J. P. Walker, "Evaluation of IEM, Dubois, and Oh radar backscatter models using airborne L-band SAR," IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Vol. 52, 4966-4979, 2014. Google Scholar

28. Singh, D. and A. Kathpalia, "An efficient modeling with GA approach to retrieve soil texture, moisture and roughness from ERS-2 SAR data," Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol. 77, 121-136, 2007. Google Scholar

29. Kasischke, E. S., J. M. Melack, and M. C. Dobson, "The use of imaging radars for ecological applications - A review," Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 59, 141-156, 1997. Google Scholar

30. Li, Z., W. Z. Liu, X. C. Zhang, and F. L. Zheng, "Impacts of land use change and climate variability on hydrology in an agricultural catchment on the Loess Plateau of China," Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 377, 35-42, 2009. Google Scholar

31. Feng, X. M., B. J. Fu, S. Piao, S. Wang, P. Ciais, Z. Z. Zeng, Y. H. Lu, Y. Zeng, Y. Li, X. H. Jiang, and B. F. Wu, "Revegetation in China's Loess Plateau is approaching sustainable water resource limits," Nat. Clim. Chang., Vol. 6, 1019-1022, 2016. Google Scholar

32. Gao, X. D., H. C. Li, X. N. Zhao, W. Ma, and P. T. Wu, "Identifying a suitable revegetation technique for soil restoration on water-limited and degraded land: Considering both deep soil moisture deficit and soil organic carbon sequestration," Geoderma, Vol. 319, 61-69, 2018. Google Scholar

33. Dobos, E., "Albedo," Encyclopedia of Soil Science, 1-3, 2003. Google Scholar

34. Zribi, M., T. Baghdadi, N. Holah, and O. Fafin, "New methodology for soil surface moisture estimation and its application to ENVISAT-ASAR multi-incidence data inversion," Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 96, 485-496, 2005. Google Scholar

35. Malik, M. S. and J. P. Shukla, "Estimation of soil moisture by remote sensing and field methods: A review," International Journal of Remote Sensing & Geoscience, Vol. 3, No. 4, 21-27, 2014. Google Scholar

36. Attema, E. P. W. and F. T. Ulaby, "Vegetation modeled as a water cloud," Radio Science, Vol. 13, 357-364, 1978. Google Scholar

37. Lakhankar, T., N. Krakauer, and R. Khanbilvardi, "Applications of microwave remote sensing of soil moisture for agricultural applications," International Journal of Terra space Science and Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 1, 81-91, 2009. Google Scholar

38. Mekonnen, D. F., "Satellite remote sensing for soil moisture estimation, Gumara catchment, Ethiopia,", Master Thesis, International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, Enschede, Netherlands, 2009. Google Scholar

39. Copernicus Space Component Data Access Portal: https://scihub.copernicus.eu /dhus/#/home.

40. U.S. Geological Survey ‘EarthExplorer' website: https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/.

41. Kirimi, F., D. N. Kuria, F. Thonfeld, E. Amler, K. Mubea, S. Misana, and G. Menz, "Influence of vegetation cover on the oh soil moisture retrieval model: A case study of the Malinda Wetland Tanzania," Advances in Remote Sensing, Vol. 5, 28-42, 2016. Google Scholar

42. El Hajj, M., N. Baghdadi, M. Zribi, G. Belaud, B. Cheviron, D. Courault, and F. Charron, "Soil moisture retrieval over irrigated grassland using X-band SAR data," Remote Sensing Environment, Vol. 176, 202-218, 2016. Google Scholar

43. Sekertekin, A., A. M. Marangoz, and S. Abdikan, "Soil moisture mapping using Sentinel-1A synthetic aperture radar data," International Journal of Environment and Geoinformatics, Vol. 5, No. 2, 178-188, 2016. Google Scholar

Dr. Packirisamy Pari

Professor Packirisamy Thirumaraiselvan

Dr. Murugaiyan Ramalingam

Dr. Shanmugam Jayalakshmi