Satellite remote sensing of soil moisture in Illinois, United States

To examine the utility of using satellite passive microwave observations to measure soil moisture over large regions, we conducted a pilot study using the scanning multichannel microwave radiometer (SMMR) on Nimbus-7, which o perated from 1978 to 1987, and actual in situ soil moisture observations fr om the state of Illinois, United States, which began in 1981. We examined S MMR midnight microwave brightness temperatures on a 0.5 degrees x 0.5 degre es grid, and compared them with direct soil moisture measurements at 14 sit es in Illinois for the period 1982-1987. The results suggest that both the polarization difference and the microwave emissivity for horizontal polariz ation at frequencies less than or equal to 18 GHz have real utility for use as a soil moisture information source in regions with grass or crops where the vegetation is not too dense. While SMMR observations ended in 1987, sp ecial sensor microwave/imager observations at 19 GHz start then and extend to the present, and advanced microwave scanning radiometer instruments will fly on satellites beginning soon. Together with SMMR, they have the potent ial to produce a soil moisture record over large regions for more than two decades and extend it into the future. Satellite observations from these lo w-resolution satellite instruments measure the component of large-scale lon g-term soil moisture variability that is related to atmospheric forcing (fr om precipitation, evapotranspiration, and snowmelt).