THERMAL REMOTE-SENSING OF SURFACE SOIL-WATER CONTENT WITH PARTIAL VEGETATION COVER FOR INCORPORATION INTO CLIMATE-MODELS

This study outlines a method for the estimation of regional patterns o f surface moisture availability (Mo) and fractional vegetation (Fr) in the presence of spatially variable vegetation cover. The method requi res relating variations in satellite-derived (NOAA, Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) surface radiant temperature to a vegetation in dex (computed from satellite visible and near-infrared data) while cou pling this association to an inverse modeling scheme. More than merely furnishing surface soil moisture values, the method constitutes a new conceptual and practical approach for combining thermal infrared and vegetation index measurements for incorporating the derived values of M(0) into hydrologic and atmospheric prediction models. Application of the technique is demonstrated for a region in and around the city of Newcastle upon Tyne situated in the northeast of England. A regional e stimate of M(0) is derived and is probably good for fractional vegetat ion cover up to 80% before errors in the estimated soil water content become unacceptably large. Moreover, a normalization scheme is suggest ed from which a nomogram, ''universal triangle,'' is constructed and i s seen to fit the observed data well. The universal triangle also simp lifies the inclusion of remotely derived M(0) in hydrology and meteoro logical models and is perhaps a practicable step toward integrating de rived data from satellite measurements in weather forecasting.