ARS | Publication request: How Does Dew Affect L-band Backscatter? Analysis of PALS Data at the Iowa Validation Site and Implications for SMAP

Submitted to: IEEE IGARSS Annual Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: July 12, 2010
Publication Date: July 25, 2010
Citation: Hornbuckle, B.K., Rowlandson, T.L., Russell, E., Kaleita, A.L., Logsdon, S.D., Kruger, A., Yueh, S., De Roo, R.D. 2010. How Does Dew Affect L-band Backscatter? Analysis of PALS Data at the Iowa Validation Site and Implications for SMAP. In: Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, July 25-30, 2010, Honolulu, HI. p. 4835-4838.

Technical Abstract: NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite mission will use both an L-band radiometer and radar to produce global-scale measurements of soil moisture. L-band backscatter is also sensitive to the water content of vegetation. We found that a moderate dew increased the L-band backscatter of a soybean canopy by 1 dB. Dew thus has the potential to add error to satellite observations of soil moisture.