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The latest developments in radar mission concepts 1 suggest that sub-daily synthetic aperture radar will become 2 available in the next decades. The goal of this study was to 3 demonstrate the potential value of sub-daily spaceborne radar 4 for monitoring vegetation water dynamics, which is essential 5 to understand the role of vegetation in the climate system. In 6 particular, we aimed to quantify fluctuations of internal and 7 surface canopy water and understand their effect on sub-daily 8 patterns of L-band backscatter. An intensive field campaign was 9 conducted in north-central Florida, USA, in 2018. A truck-10 mounted polarimetric L-band scatterometer was used to scan a 11 sweet corn field multiple times per day, from sowing to harvest.12 Surface canopy water (dew, interception), soil moisture, and plant 13 and soil hydraulics were monitored every 15 minutes. In addition, 14 regular destructive sampling was conducted to measure seasonal 15 and diurnal variations of internal vegetation water content. The 16 results showed that backscatter was sensitive to both transient 17 rainfall interception events, and slower daily cycles of internal 18 canopy water and dew. On late season days without rainfall, 19 maximum diurnal backscatter variations of >2 dB due to internal 20 and surface canopy water were observed in all polarizations. 21 These results demonstrate a potentially valuable application for 22 the next generation of spaceborne radar missions.

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