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The feasibility of using a combined microwave-thermal infrared system to determine soil moisture content is addressed. Of particular concern are bare soils. The theoretical basis for microwave emission from soils and the transport of heat and moisture in soils is presented. Also, a description is given of the results of two field experiments held during vernal months in the San Joaquin Valley of California.
Meteorologists are interested in modeling the vertical flow of heat and moisture through the soil in order to better simulate the vertical and temporal variations of the atmospheric boundary layer. The one dimensional planetary boundary layer model of is modified by the addition of transport equations to be solved by a finite difference technique to predict soil moisture.
Two microwave radiometers at the frequencies of 1.4 GHz and 5 GHz were mounted on a mobile tower and used for a remote sensing of soil moisture experiment at a Beltsville Agriculture Research Center test site. The experiment was performed in October 1979 over both bare field and fields covered with grass, soybean, and corn. The calibration procedure for the radiometer systems which forms the basis of obtaining the final radiometric data product is described. It is estimated from the calibration results that the accuracy of the 1.4 GHz radiometric measurements is about + or - 3 K. The measured 5 GHz brightness temperatures over bare fields with moisture content greater than 10 percent by dry weight are about 8 K lower than those taken simultaneously at 1.4 GHz. This could be due to either (1) a 5 GHz antenna side lobe seeing the cold brightness of the sky, or (2) the thermal microwave emission from a soil being less sensitive to surface roughness at 5 GHz than at 1.4 GHz.
The edited Guymon soil moisture data collected on August 2, 5, 14, 17, 1978 were grouped into four field cover types for statistical analysis. These are the bare, milo with rows parallel to field of view, milo with rows perpendicular to field of view and alfalfa cover groups. There are 37, 22, 24 and 14 observations respectively in each group for each sensor channel and each soil moisture layer. A subset of these data called the 'five cover set' (VEG5) limited the scatterometer data to the 15 deg look angle and was used to determine discriminant functions and combined group regressions.
A method for inferring the distribution of surface heat and evaporative fluxes and the ground moisture availability and thermal inertia (ground conductive capacity) is used to analyze two urbanized areas, Los Angeles and St. Louis. The technique employs infrared satellite temperature measurements in conjunction with a one-dimensional boundary-layer model. Results show that there is a marked reduction of evaporation and moisture availability and a corresponding elevation of sensible heat flux over urbanized areas and over cropped areas with low vegetative cover. Conversely, low heat flux and high evaporation characterize vegetated and, especially, forested areas. Warm urban centers appear directly related to a reduction in vegetation, which normally allows for a greater fraction of available radiant energy to be converted into latent heat flux. The distribution of thermal inertia was surprisingly ill-defined and its variation between urban and rural areas was quite small. Thus, the increased heat storage within the urban fabric, which has been proposed as the underlying cause of the nocturnal heat island, may be caused mainly by enhanced daytime surface heating which occurs because of surface dryness, rather than by large spatial variations in the conductivity of the surface.
General methods for determining the moisture content in the surface layers of the soil based on in situ or point measurements, soil water models and remote sensing observations are surveyed. In situ methods described include gravimetric techniques, nuclear techniques based on neutron scattering or gamma-ray attenuation, electromagnetic techniques, tensiometric techniques and hygrometric techniques. Soil water models based on column mass balance treat soil moisture contents as a result of meteorological inputs (precipitation, runoff, subsurface flow) and demands (evaporation, transpiration, percolation). The remote sensing approaches are based on measurements of the diurnal range of surface temperature and the crop canopy temperature in the thermal infrared, measurements of the radar backscattering coefficient in the microwave region, and measurements of microwave emission or brightness temperature. Advantages and disadvantages of the various methods are pointed out, and it is concluded that a successful monitoring system must incorporate all of the approaches considered.
Results are presented of ground, aircraft and satellite investigations conducted to evaluate the potential of the Heat Capacity Mapping Mission (HCMM) to monitor soil moisture and the depth of shallow ground water. The investigations were carried out over eastern South Dakota to evaluate the relation between directly measured soil temperatures and water content at various stages of canopy development, aircraft thermal scanner measurements of apparent canopy temperature and the reliability of actual HCMM data. The results demonstrate the possibility of evaluating soil moisture on the basis of HCMM apparent canopy temperature and day-night soil temperature difference measurements. Limitations on the use of thermal data posed by environmental factors which influence energy balance interactions, including phase transformations, wind patterns, topographic variations and atmospheric constituents are pointed out.
Image simulation techniques were employed to generate synthetic aperture radar images of a 17.7 km x 19.3 km test site located east of Lawrence, Kansas. The simulations were performed for a space SAR at an orbital altitude of 600 km, with the following sensor parameters: frequency = 4.75 GHz, polarization = HH, and angle of incidence range = 7 deg to 22 deg from nadir. Three sets of images were produced corresponding to three different spatial resolutions; 20 m x 20 m with 12 looks, 100 m x 100 m with 23 looks, and 1 km x 1 km with 1000 looks. Each set consisted of images for four different soil moisture distributions across the test site. Results indicate that, for the agricultural portion of the test site, the soil moisture in about 90% of the pixels can be predicted with an accuracy of = + or - 20% of field capacity. Among the three spatial resolutions, the 1 km x 1 km resolution gave the best results for most cases, however, for very dry soil conditions, the 100 m x 100 m resolution was slightly superior.
It is noted that one objective of NASA's Heat Capacity Mapping Mission (HCMM) is to evaluate the feasibility of using HCMM data to assess soil moisture effects by observing temperatures near the maximum and minimum of the diurnal temperature cycle. The satellite, which carries a two-channel radiometer (0.5-1.1 and 10.5-12.5 microns) gathers data at 1:30 P.M. and 2:30 A.M. local time at midlatitudes, with a repeat cycle of 5 or 16 days depending on latitude. The spatial resolutions are 0.5 x 0.5 km at nadir for the visible channel and 0.6 x 0.6 km at nadir for the thermal infrared channel. An example is presented here of HCMM detection of a region of high soil moisture.
Technique monitors drying of continuous sheets of thin material. Ribbon sensing element samples moisture content of web material during each rotation of roller. Change in resistivity of thermally and electrically conductive ribbon is parameter used to measure web moisture; measurements insensitive to ribbon contact pressure. Application in industrial production of sheet materials such as paper and fabric.
Theoretical modeling as well as laboratory and field measurement were coupled with analysis of aircraft data obtained from controlled sites in an effort to enhance understanding of the microwave response due to soil moisture so as to specify sensor parameters and develop inversion algorithms. Models to predict the complex dielectric constant were produced which led to the interpretation of the results in terms of a matrix potential rather than simply moisture content. Similar advances were made in the development of coherent and incoherent radiative transfer models and rough surface scattering models.
Comparisons of low level L-band brightness temperature (TB) and thermal infrared (TIR) data as well as the following data sets: soil map and land cover data; direct soil moisture measurement; and a computer generated contour map were statistically evaluated using regression analysis and linear discriminant analysis. Regression analysis of footprint data shows that statistical groupings of ground variables (soil features and land cover) hold promise for qualitative assessment of soil moisture and for reducing variance within the sampling space. Dry conditions appear to be more conductive to producing meaningful statistics than wet conditions. Regression analysis using field averaged TB and TIR data did not approach the higher sq R values obtained using within-field variations. The linear discriminant analysis indicates some capacity to distinguish categories with the results being somewhat better on a field basis than a footprint basis.
A numerical analysis procedure is developed for the micro-mechanical investigation of moisture effects on graphite-epoxy composites. The procedure employs a nonlinear constitutive relationship in a finite element formulation. A quasi-Newton method is used to solve the resulting nonlinear algebraic equations. The results presented indicate that the stresses at the graphite-epoxy interface have a strong dependence on moisture content, fiber spacing, and applied load.
A technique for retrieving vertical moisture profiles from downlooking radiometric measurements of atmospheric radiation near the 183 GHz water vapor line is described. A simulation experiment utilizing this retrieval technique and temperature and moisture profiles from tropical radiosonde stations has been carried out. Assuming the atmospheric temperature profile is known to 2 K rms (state-of-the-art with present remote sensors) and the instrument noise is 1-2 K rms brightness temperature (achievable with current technology), the humidity between the 700 and 1000 mb pressure levels was retrieved to within about 20 percent of true value over ocean and within about 45 percent of true value over land. The precipitable water content was retrieved to within about 10 percent rms of true value over the ocean and within about 45 percent rms of true value over land.
Microwave radiometric measurements over bare fields of different surface roughness were made at frequencies of 1.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 10.7 GHz to study the frequency dependence, as well as the possible time variation, of surface roughness. An increase in surface roughness was found to increase the brightness temperature of soils and reduce the slope of regression between brightness temperature and soil moisture content. The frequency dependence of the surface roughness effect was relatively weak when compared with that of the vegetation effect. Radiometric time-series observations over a given field indicate that field surface roughness might gradually diminish with time, especially after a rainfall or irrigation. The variation of surface roughness increases the uncertainty of remote soil moisture estimates by microwave radiometry. Three years of radiometric measurements over a test site revealed a possible inconsistency in the soil bulk density determination, which is an important factor in the interpretation of radiometric data.
Microwave radiometric measurements over bare fields of different surface roughnesses were made at the frequencies of 1.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 10.7 GHz to study the frequency dependence as well as the possible time variation of surface roughness. The presence of surface roughness was found to increase the brightness temperature of soils and reduce the slope of regression between brightness temperature and soil moisture content. The frequency dependence of the surface roughness effect was relatively weak when compared with that of the vegetation effect. Radiometric time series observation over a given field indicated that field surface roughness might gradually diminish with time, especially after a rainfall or irrigation. This time variation of surface roughness served to enhance the uncertainty in remote soil moisture estimate by microwave radiometry. Three years of radiometric measurements over a test site revealed a possible inconsistency in the soil bulk density determination, which turned out to be an important factor in the interpretation of radiometric data.
Soil moisture was measured by truck mounted microwave radiometers at the frequencies of 1.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 10.7 GHz. The soil textures in the two test sites were different so that the soil type effect of microwave radiometric response could be studied. Several fields in each test site were prepared with different surface roughnesses and vegetation covers. Ground truth on the soil moisture, temperature, and the biomass of the vegetation was acquired in support of the microwave radiometric measurements. Soil bulk density for each of the fields in both test sites was sampled. The soils in both sites were measured mechanically and chemically. A tabulation of the measured data is presented and the sensors and operational problems associated with the measurements are discussed.
MY-720/DDS epoxy samples were treated with three selected chemical compounds to render the active H-sites inactive for moisture absorption. Treating the epoxy castings with acetyl chloride and dichlorodimethyl silane leads only to surface changes indicating that these molecules are too large to penetrate the epoxy castings. Boron trifluoride, on the other hand, does penetrate the epoxy chain as is indicated by the formation of green domains in the interior of the castings. However, the process of saturating the specimens with moisture appears to leach out the chemical additives--thereby nullifying their possible ameliorative effects.