Simulating L/L-band and C/L-band active-passive microwave covariation of crops with the Tor Vergata scattering and emission model for a SMAP-Sentinel 1 combination

Abstract

The NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission aims to disaggregate L-band microwave brightness temperatures (∼40 km2) with finer resolution radar backscatter (1–3 km2) to obtain an intermediate resolution soil moisture product. The disaggregation is based on a linear functional relationship between backscatter and emissivity microwave observations that is captured by a covariation parameter β. Since SMAP's L-Band radar has stopped operations in July 2015, the substitution of Sentinel 1's C-Band radar for an operational soil moisture product is in preparation. However, while multiple studies have provided understanding of active-passive covariation for the L/L-Band case, little is known about the C/L-Band case. We utilize the Tor Vergata discrete backscatter and emission model to simulate growing wheat and corn stands and calculate the covariation parameter β for the L/L-Band and C/L-Band case. The study aims to provide insights into the strength, temporal dynamics and underlying scattering mechanisms of active-passive covariation for different vegetation types and frequency combinations. Our results indicate that for the C/L-Band case, vegetation cover limitations are generally more severe, and different β-dynamics and underlying scattering mechanisms are observed with respect to the L/L-Band case.