Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (MOSS): A Mission Concept for Global Deep Soil Moisture Observations

Moghaddam, Mahta; Rahmat‐Samii, Y.; Rodríguez, E.; Entekhabi, Dara; Hoffman, Jennifer; Möller, D.; Pierce, L.E.; Saatchi, S. S.; Thomson, Mark

doi:10.1109/tgrs.2007.898236

Cited by 48 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Several recent missions, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR), provide a number of data sets, which allow advances in forest vegetation modeling and sensitivity analyses [1]. Such models need to be sufficiently accurate and flexible that they can be adapted to a wide range of land cover types, thereby supporting missions such as the Earth Ventures 1 airborne version of the Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (MOSS) mission [2] and Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) mission [3].…”

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confidence: 99%

A Generalized Radar Backscattering Model Based on Wave Theory for Multilayer Multispecies Vegetation

Burgin

Clewley

Lucas

et al. 2011

IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sensing

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A generalized radar scattering model based on wave theory is described. The model predicts polarimetric radar backscattering coefficients for structurally complex vegetation comprised of multiple species and layers. Compared to conventional two-layer crown-trunk models, modeling of actual forests has been improved substantially, allowing better understanding of microwave interaction with vegetation. The model generalizes an existing single-species discrete scatterer model and, by including scattering and propagation effects through judiciously defined vegetation layers, enables its application to an arbitrary number of species types. The scatterers within each layer are modeled as finite cylinders or disks having arbitrary size, density, and orientation, as in the predecessor model. The distorted Born approximation is used to represent the propagation through each layer, while scattering from each is modeled as a linear superposition of scattering from its respective random collection of scatterers. Interactions of waves within and between each layer and direct scattering from the ground are accounted for. Validation of the model is presented based on its application to 23 wooded savanna sites located in Queensland, Australia, and comparison with Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Arrayed L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AIRSAR) data. Results indicate good agreement between simulated and actual backscattering coefficients, particularly at HH and VV polarizations. More discrepancies are found at HV polarizations and can be explained by uncertainties in the knowledge of input parameters, such as inaccuracies in the surface model, surface roughness parameterization, and soil moisture.

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confidence: 99%

A Generalized Radar Backscattering Model Based on Wave Theory for Multilayer Multispecies Vegetation

Burgin

Clewley

Lucas

et al. 2011

IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sensing

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“…Deep soil moisture could also be on the list, although soil moisture algorithms that make use of wavelengths longer than L-band (e.g. P-band at 40 cm) are not yet mature (Moghaddam et al, 2007).…”

Section: Future Agency Missionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The future of Earth observation in hydrology

McCabe

Rodell

Alsdorf

et al. 2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

364

279

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Abstract. In just the past 5 years, the field of Earth observation has progressed beyond the offerings of conventional space-agency-based platforms to include a plethora of sensing opportunities afforded by CubeSats, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and smartphone technologies that are being embraced by both for-profit companies and individual researchers. Over the previous decades, space agency efforts have brought forth well-known and immensely useful satellites such as the Landsat series and the Gravity Research and Climate Experiment (GRACE) system, with costs typically of the order of 1 billion dollars per satellite and with concept-to-launch timelines of the order of 2 decades (for new missions). More recently, the proliferation of smartphones has helped to miniaturize sensors and energy requirements, facilitating advances in the use of CubeSats that can be launched by the dozens, while providing ultra-high (3-5 m) resolution sensing of the Earth on a daily basis. Startup companies that did not exist a decade ago now operate more satellites in orbit than any space agency, and at costs that are a mere fraction of traditional satellite missions.With these advances come new space-borne measurements, such as real-time high-definition video for tracking air pollution, storm-cell development, flood propagation, precipitation monitoring, or even for constructing digital surfaces using structure-from-motion techniques. Closer to the surface, measurements from small unmanned drones and tethered balloons have mapped snow depths, floods, and estimated evaporation at sub-metre resolutions, pushing back on spatio-temporal constraints and delivering new process insights. At ground level, precipitation has been measured using signal attenuation between antennae mounted on cell phone towers, while the proliferation of mobile devices has enabled citizen scientists to catalogue photos of environmental conditions, estimate daily average temperatures from battery state, and sense other hydrologically important variables such as channel depths using commercially available wireless devices. Global internet access is being pursued via highaltitude balloons, solar planes, and hundreds of planned satellite launches, providing a means to exploit the "internet of things" as an entirely new measurement domain. Such globalPublished by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. The future of Earth observation in hydrology access will enable real-time collection of data from billions of smartphones or from remote research platforms. This future will produce petabytes of data that can only be accessed via cloud storage and will require new analytical approaches to interpret. The extent to which today's hydrologic models can usefully ingest such massive data volumes is unclear. Nor is it clear whether this deluge of data will be usefully exploited, either because the measurements are superfluous, inconsistent, not accurate enough, or simply because we lack the capacity to process and analyse them. What is apparen...

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“…There is a general lack of soil FT profile information, which is greatly needed for soil active layer FT detection and monitoring, and for constraining climate, hydrology and ecosystem model predictions. To overcome these limitations, it is worthwhile to introduce lower frequency P-band SAR, in which the characteristic penetration depth is estimated to be several tens of centimeters even under moderately high soil moisture conditions, and with greater backscatter sensitivity to deeper soil layers than L-band [26]. Available P-band missions include the NASA Airborne Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS) mission, which is equipped with a P-band (430 MHz) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and seeks to improve estimates of North American net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) through high-resolution observations and estimation of surface to root zone (up to 1m depth) soil moisture [26,27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To overcome these limitations, it is worthwhile to introduce lower frequency P-band SAR, in which the characteristic penetration depth is estimated to be several tens of centimeters even under moderately high soil moisture conditions, and with greater backscatter sensitivity to deeper soil layers than L-band [26]. Available P-band missions include the NASA Airborne Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS) mission, which is equipped with a P-band (430 MHz) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and seeks to improve estimates of North American net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) through high-resolution observations and estimation of surface to root zone (up to 1m depth) soil moisture [26,27]. Moreover, the European Space Agency's (ESA) BIOMASS mission is under development and is expected to provide future global space-borne P-band SAR observations [28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theoretical Modeling and Analysis of L- and P-band Radar Backscatter Sensitivity to Soil Active Layer Dielectric Variations

Kimball

Moghaddam

2015

Remote Sensing

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Freeze-thaw (FT) and moisture dynamics within the soil active layer are critical elements of boreal, arctic and alpine ecosystems, and environmental change assessments. We evaluated the potential for detecting dielectric changes within different soil layers using combined L-and P-band radar remote sensing as a prerequisite for detecting FT and moisture profile changes within the soil active layer. A two-layer scattering model was developed and validated for simulating radar responses from vertically inhomogeneous soil. The model simulations indicated that inhomogeneity in the soil dielectric profile contributes to both L-and P-band backscatter, but with greater P-band sensitivity at depth. The difference in L-and P-band responses to soil dielectric profile inhomogeneity appears suitable for detecting associated changes in soil active layer conditions. Additional evaluation using collocated airborne radar (AIRSAR) observations and in situ soil moisture measurements over alpine tundra indicates that combined L-and P-band SAR observations are sensitive to soil dielectric profile heterogeneity associated with variations in soil moisture and FT conditions.

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Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (MOSS): A Mission Concept for Global Deep Soil Moisture Observations

Cited by 48 publications

References 29 publications

A Generalized Radar Backscattering Model Based on Wave Theory for Multilayer Multispecies Vegetation

A Generalized Radar Backscattering Model Based on Wave Theory for Multilayer Multispecies Vegetation

The future of Earth observation in hydrology

Theoretical Modeling and Analysis of L- and P-band Radar Backscatter Sensitivity to Soil Active Layer Dielectric Variations

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