SOURCES OF GLOBAL SCALE SOIL MOISTURE MONITORING DATA BY SATELLITE BASED REMOTE SENSING OF EARTH’S SURFACE

A review of modern tools of global monitoring of soil moisture by means of remote sensing of the Earth’s surface is presented. The characteristic features of the use of orbital radiometers and radars of C, X and L microwave bands for estimating the volumetric soil moisture at a depth of 5 cm and the root layer of vegetation are considered. A review of the capabilities of satellite gravimetry to assess the land water equivalent thickness is made. A number of sources have been proposed for obtaining estimates of soil water content from satellite based radiometric devices and orbital gravimetric systems. Based on the analysis of scientific research papers, the complexity of monitoring the level of fire danger indices in forests is shown, and the prospects of assessing soil moisture in agricultural regions using microwave orbital instruments are demonstrated, and the adequacy of calculating the moisture content in soil at a depth of up to one meter using satellite gravimetry is described.