0000000000465980
AUTHOR
Moritz Link
Multi-Frequency Estimation of Canopy Penetration Depths from SMAP/AMSR2 Radiometer and IceSAT Lidar Data
In this study, the $\tau-\omega$ model framework is used to derive extinction coefficient and canopy penetration depths from multi-frequency SMAP and AMSR2 retrievals of vegetation optical depth together with ICESat LiDAR vegetation heights. The vegetation extinction coefficient serves as an indicator of how strong absorption and scattering processes within the canopy attenuate microwaves at $\mathrm{L}$ and C-band. Through inversion of the extinction coefficient, the penetration depth into the canopy can be obtained, which is analyzed on local (Sahel, Illinois) and continental scale (Africa, parts of North America) as well as for a one year time series (04/2015-04/2016). First analyses of …
Estimation of vegetation loss coefficients and canopy penetration depths from SMAP radiometer and IceSAT lidar data
In this study the framework of the τ — ω model is used to derive vegetation loss coefficients and canopy penetration depths from SMAP multi-temporal retrievals of vegetation optical depth, single scattering albedo and ICESat lidar vegetation heights. The vegetation loss coefficients serve as a global indicator of how strong absorption and scattering processes attenuate L-band microwave radiation. By inverting the vegetation loss coefficients, penetration depths into the canopy can be obtained, which are displayed for the global forest reservoirs. A simple penetration index is formed combining vegetation heights and penetration depth estimates. The distribution and level of this index reveal…
Estimating Gravimetric Moisture of Vegetation Using an Attenuation-Based Multi-Sensor Approach
Estimating parameters for global climate models via combined active and passive microwave remote sensing data has been a subject of intensive research in recent years. A variety of retrieval algorithms has been proposed for the estimation of soil moisture, vegetation optical depth and other parameters. A novel attenuation-based retrieval approach is proposed here to globally estimate the gravimetric moisture of vegetation (m g ) and retrieve information about the amount of water [kg] per amount of wet vegetation [kg]. The parameter m g is particularly interesting for agro-ecosystems, to assess the status of growing vegetation. The key feature of the proposed approach is that it relies on mu…
Estimation of Vegetation Structure Parameters From SMAP Radar Intensity Observations
In this article, we present a multipolarimetric estimation approach for two model-based vegetation structure parameters (shape A and orientation distribution ψ of the main canopy elements). The approach is based on a reduced observation set of three incoherent (no phase information) polarimetric backscatter intensities (|S HH | 2 , |S HV | 2 , and |S VV | 2 ) combined with a two-parameter (A P and ψ) discrete scatterer model of vegetation. The objective is to understand whether this confined set of observations contains enough information to estimate the two vegetation structure parameters from the L-band radar signals. In order to disentangle soil and vegetation scattering influences on th…
PHYSICS-based retrieval of scattering albedo and vegetation optical depth using multi-sensor data integration
Vegetation optical depth and scattering albedo are crucial parameters within the widely used τ-ω model for passive microwave remote sensing of vegetation and soil. A multi-sensor data integration approach using ICESat lidar vegetation heights and SMAP radar as well as radiometer data enables a direct retrieval of the two parameters on a physics-derived basis. The crucial step within the retrieval methodology is the calculus of the vegetation scattering coefficient KS, where one exact and three approximated solutions are provided. It is shown that, when using the assumption of a randomly oriented volume, the backscatter measurements of the radar provide a sufficient first order estimate and …