Soil moisture profile effect on radar signal measurement

The objective of this paper is to analyze the behaviour of a backscattered signal according to soil moisture depth over bare soils. Analysis based on experimental vertical moisture profiles and ASAR/ENVISAT measurements has been carried out. A modified IEM model with three permittivity layers (0-1cm, 1-2cm, 2-5cm) has been developed and used in this study. Results show a small effect of moisture profile on the backscattered signal (less than 0.5dB). However, measurements and simulations have provided a more detailed insight into the behaviour of the radar signal and have shown that it was important to consistently use the same protocol when performing ground truth measurements of soil moisture.