Using multi-satellite microwave remote sensing observations for retrieval of daily surface soil moisture across China

The objective of this study was to retrieve daily composite soil moisture by jointly using brightness temperature observations from multiple operating satellites for near real-time application with better coverage and higher accuracy.Our approach was to first apply the single-channel brightness radiometric algorithm to estimate soil moisture from the respective brightness temperature observations of the SMAP,SMOS,AMSR2,FY3B,and FY3C satellites on the same day and then produce a daily composite dataset by averaging the individual satellite-retrieved soil moisture.We further evaluated our product,the official soil moisture products of the five satellites,and the ensemble mean (i.e.,arithmetic mean) of the five official satellite soil moisture products against ground observations from two networks in Central Tibet and Anhui Province,China.The results show that our product outperforms the individual released products of the five satellites and their ensemble means in the two validation areas.The root mean square error (RMSE ) values of our product were 0.06 and 0.09 m3/m3 in Central Tibet and Anhui Province,respectively.Relative to the ensemble mean of the five satellite products,our product improves the accuracy by 9.1% and 57.7% in Central Tibet and Anhui Province,respectively.This demonstrates that jointly using brightness temperature observations from multiple satellites to retrieve soil moisture not only improves the spatial coverage of daily observations but also produces better daily composite products.

Advances in Research on Soil Moisture by Microwave Remote Sensing in China

Soil moisture is an important factor in global hydrologic circulation and plays a significant role in the research of hydrology, climatology, and agriculture. Microwave remote sensing is less limited by climate and time, and can measure in large scale. With these characteristics, this technique becomes an effective tool to measure soil moisture. Since the 1980s, Chinese researchers have investigated the soil moisture using microwave instruments. The active re- mote sensors are characteristic of high spatial resolution, thus with launch of a series of satellites, active microwave remote sensing of soil moisture will be emphasized. The passive microwave remote sensing of soil moisture has a long research history, and its retrieval algorithms were developed well, so it is an important tool to retrieve large scale moisture information from satellite data in the future.

Comparisons of passive microwave remote sensing sea ice concentrations with ship-based visual observations during the CHINARE Arctic summer cruises of 2010–2018

In order to apply satellite data to guiding navigation in the Arctic more effectively,the sea ice concentrations(SIC)derived from passive microwave(PM)products were compared with ship-based visual observations(OBS)collected during the Chinese National Arctic Research Expeditions(CHINARE).A total of 3667 observations were collected in the Arctic summers of 2010,2012,2014,2016,and 2018.PM SIC were derived from the NASA-Team(NT),Bootstrap(BT)and Climate Data Record(CDR)algorithms based on the SSMIS sensor,as well as the BT,enhanced NASA-Team(NT2)and ARTIST Sea Ice(ASI)algorithms based on AMSR-E/AMSR-2 sensors.The daily arithmetic average of PM SIC values and the daily weighted average of OBS SIC values were used for the comparisons.The correlation coefficients(CC),biases and root mean square deviations(RMSD)between PM SIC and OBS SIC were compared in terms of the overall trend,and under mild/normal/severe ice conditions.Using the OBS data,the influences of floe size and ice thickness on the SIC retrieval of different PM products were evaluated by calculating the daily weighted average of floe size code and ice thickness.Our results show that CC values range from 0.89(AMSR-E/AMSR-2 NT2)to 0.95(SSMIS NT),biases range from−3.96%(SSMIS NT)to 12.05%(AMSR-E/AMSR-2 NT2),and RMSD values range from 10.81%(SSMIS NT)to 20.15%(AMSR-E/AMSR-2 NT2).Floe size has a significant influence on the SIC retrievals of the PM products,and most of the PM products tend to underestimate SIC under smaller floe size conditions and overestimate SIC under larger floe size conditions.Ice thickness thicker than 30 cm does not have a significant influence on the SIC retrieval of PM products.Overall,the best(worst)agreement occurs between OBS SIC and SSMIS NT(AMSR-E/AMSR-2 NT2)SIC in the Arctic summer.

A Method for Surface Roughness Parameter Estimation in Passive Microwave Remote Sensing

Surface roughness parameter is an important factor and obstacle for retrieving soil moisture in passive microwave remote sensing.Two statistical parameters,root mean square (RMS) height (s) and correlation length (l),are designed for describing the roughness of a randomly rough surface.The roughness parameter measured by traditional way is independence of frequency,soil moisture and soil heterogeneity and just the ″geometric″ roughness of random surface.This ″geometric″ roughness can not fully explain the scattered thermal radiation by the earth's surface.The relationship between ″geometric″ roughness and integrated roughness (contain both ″geometric″ roughness and ″dielectric″ roughness) is linked by empirical coefficient.In view of this problem,this paper presents a method for estimating integrated surface roughness from radiometer sampling data at different frequencies,which mainly based on the flourier relationship between power spectral density distribution and spatial autocorrelation function.We can obtain integrated surface roughness at different frequencies by this method.Besides "geometric" roughness,this integrated surface roughness not only contains "dielectric" roughness but also includes frequency dependence.Combined with Q/H model the polarization coupling coefficient can also be obtained for both H and V polarization.Meanwhile,the simulated numerical results show that radiometer with a sensitivity of 0.1 K can distinguish the different surface roughness and the change of roughness with frequency for the same rough surface.This confirms the feasibility of radiometer sampling method for estimating the surface roughness theoretically.This method overcomes the problem of ″dielectric″ roughness measurement to some extent and can achieve the integrated surface roughness within a microwave pixel which can serve soil moisture inversion better than the ″geometric″ roughness.

Influences of Atmospheric Turbulence on Image Resolution of Airborne and Space-Borne Optical Remote Sensing System

A new way is proposed to evaluate the influence of atmospheric turbulence on image resolution of airborne and space-borne optical remote sensing system, which is called as arrival angle-method. Applying this method, some engineering examples are selected to analyze the turbulence influences on image resolution based on three different atmospheric turbulence models quantificationally, for the airborne remote sensing system, the resolution errors caused by the atmospheric turbulence are less than 1 cm, and for the space-borne remote sensing system, the errors are around 1 cm. The results are similar to that obtained by the previous Friedmethod. Compared with the Fried-method, the arrival angle-method is rather simple and can be easily used in engineering fields.

STUDY AND APPLICATION OF THE AERIAL PASSIVE MICROWAVE REMOTE SENSING

Ⅰ. Introduction Over the past two decades, microwave remote sensing has evolved into a focal point in the remote sensing area. This is due to the fact that in microwave band, we can acquire physical parameters about ocean, terrain and atmosphere on all weather condition. Research and application work about the aerial passive micro wave remote sensors has been done at Changchun Institute of Geography since 1973, under the unitary planning of Academia Sinica. Microwave radiometers of six freqency bands have been developed. Numerous remote sensing experiments were carried out, and large amount of scientific data were accumulated. Recently, theoretical models have

A NEW PROGRESS IN OCEAN SURFACE WIND VECTOR DETECTION USING MICROWAVE REMOTE SENSING

In this paper, a new progress in scattering measurement of ocean surface wind vector using a space borne scanning scatterometer (CNSCAT) has been described. The CNSCAT developed during the past five years in the laboratory for Microwave Remote Sensing and Information Technology (MIRIT), CSSAR,The Chinese Academy of Sciences, will be launched in early next decade. This paper also discussed CNSCAT system design, system calibration and some theoretical analysis.

STUDY ON PASSIVE MICROWAVE REMOTE SENSING OF OIL POLLUTION ON SEA SURFACE

By using the model of air-oil slick-sea water system, the influence of the oil slick thickness, operating frequency of the radiometer and incidence angle on the effective emissivity are calculated and analysed. The optimum scheme for passive microwave remote sensing of oil pollution on sea surface is also proposed and used successfully for airborne microwave remote sensing experiments.

The application of microwave remote sensing technology in rock mechanics

During the process of rock compression up to failure, the microwave radiation of rocks was observed and studied by remote sensing. The microwave radiometers for wave lengths of 8 mm, 2 cm and 10 cm were used. The experiments show that the luminance temperature of microwave radiation of rocks increases with increasing stress during loading, and that the increase speeds up just before rock failure. This phenomenon can be considered as a new precursor of rock failure. The concept of remote sensing rock mechanics (or remote sensing rock physics) advanced on the experimental basis of infrared remote sensing observation during rock failure has been enriched by these new experimental results. Its contents have been extended from infrared remote sensing to microwave remote sensing, and the prospects of applying remote sensing rock mechanics in the study of earthquake and rock burst prediction have also been broadened.

Technology Progress Report for Microwave Remote Sensing

In this presentation, technological progress for China's microwave remote sensing is introduced. New developments of the microwave remote sensing instruments for China's lunar exploration satellite (Chang'E-1), meteorological satellite FY-3 and ocean dynamic measurement satellite (HY-2) are reported.

Technology Progress Report for Spaceborne Microwave Remote Sensing

In this presentation, technological progress for China's microwave remote sensing is introduced. New developments of the microwave remote sensing instruments formeteorological satellite FY-3, ocean dynamic measurement satellite (HY-2), environment small SAR satellite (H J-1C) and China's lunar exploration satellite (Chang'E-1), are reported.

Study on Microwave Remote Sensing of Atmosphere,Cloud and Rain

In this paper, recent research of microwave remote sensing of atmosphere, cloud and rain in China is presented. It includes the following aspects:(1) Progress in the development of multifrequency radiometer and its characteristics and parameters;(2) Application of microwave remote sensing in prediction of atmospheric boundary layer. The atmospheric temperature profiles are derived with 5 mm (54.5 GHz) radiometer angle-scanning observations. Due to the fact that microwave radiometer could monitor the atmospheric temperature profile continuously and make the initialization of numerical model any time, it is helpful for improving the accuracy in prediction of the evolution of atmospheric boundary layer;(3) Theory and application of microwave radiometers in monitoring atmospheric temperature, humidity and water content in cloud. The field experiment of International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) at Shionomisaki and Amami Oshima of Japan for studies of cloud and weather has been described;(4) Satellite remote sensing of atmosphere and colud. The TIROS-N TOYS satellite data are used to obtain atmospheric temperature profile. The results are compared with those of radiosonde, with rms deviation smaller than that of the current operational TOVS processing;(5) Microwave remote sensing and communication. The atmospheric attenuations are derived with microwave remote sensing methods such as solar radiation method etc., in order to obtain the local value instantaneously. The characteristics of Beijing's rainfall have been analysed and the probability of microwave attenuation of rain is predicted;(6) For improvement of the accuracy of rainfall measurement, a radiometer-radar system (λ= 3.2 cm) has been developed The variation of rainfall distribution and area-rainfall may be obtained by its measurements, which mav be helpful for hydrological prediction.The prospect of microwave remote sensing in meteorology is also discussed.

NUMERICAL MODELING OF RADIATIVE TRANSFER FOR MICROWAVE REMOTE SENSING

An overall vector radiative transfer theory was developed for numerical modeling, in both active and passive microwave remote sensing. The Theory and approaches are briefly summerized.To quantitatively understand scattering and thermal emission from targets in active and passive remote sensing, we have developed an overall vector radiative transfer theory for a set of theoretical models of discrete scatterer and continuous random media for the earth terrain (wet soil, vegetation, snow, sea-ice, etc.) and atmosphere, and numerical approaches for simulation, data analysis, and parameter sensitivity test. Our numerical results favorably agreed with experimental data in microwave re mote sensing of various earth surfaces. Main approaches are briefly summerized herewith.

A study on remote sensing models of sea ice thickness by microwave radiometry

Extrapolating from the propagation theories of electromagnetic waves in a layered medium, a three-layer medium model is deduced in this paper by using microwave radiometric remote sensing technology which is suitable to first-year sea ice condition of the northern part of China seas. Comparison with in situ data indicates that for microwave wavelength of 10 cm, the coherent model gives a quite good fit result for the thickness of sea ice less than 20 cm, and the incoherent model also works well for thickness within 20 to 40 cm. Based on three theoretical models, the inversion soft ware from microwave remote sensing data for calculating the thickness of sea ice can be set up. The relative complex dielectrical constants of different types of sea ice in the Liaodong Gulf calculated by using these theoretical models and measurement data are given in this paper. The extent of their values is (0. 5-4. 0)-j(0. 07~0. 19).

A study on retrieval algorithms in oceanic passive microwave remote sensing using 1.4 GHz and 10.7 GHz bands

To retrieve sea-surface salinity (SSS) from radiometer data at 1.4 GHz, auxiliary data of sea-surface temperature (SST), surface roughness and meteorological variables are needed. The authors study oceanic passive polarimetric microwave remote sensing using 1.4 GHz and 10.7 GHz bands. A set of algorithms are developed for 1.4 GHz and 10.7 GHz microwave polarimetric radiometer at 50° incidence angle to retrieve wind vector, as well as other geophysical parameters, such as SSS, SST, atmospheric volumes of water vapor and liquid water. Idealized retrievals are conducted using 2 324 simulated brightness temperatures of full Stokes parameters at 1.4 GHz and 10.7 GHz. Results indicate that SSS, SST, sea-surface wind speed, direction, atmospheric volumes of water vapor and liquid water can be inversed at the same time. This suggests an alternative way for SSS remote sensing.

Progress for Spaceborne Microwave Remote Sensing in China

In this paper,technological progress for China's microwave remote sensing is intro-duced.New developments of the microwave remote sensing instruments for meteorological satellite FY-3,ocean dynamic measurement satellite(HY-2),environment small SAR satellite(HJ-1C) and China's lunar exploration satellite(Chang'E-1),geostationary orbit meteorological satellite FY-4M,are reported.

Recent Progresses in Atmospheric Remote Sensing Research in China——Chinese National Report on Atmospheric Remote Sensing Research in China during 1999-2003

Progresses of atmospheric remote sensing research in China during 1999-2003 are summarily introduced. This research includes: (1) microwave remote sensing of the atmosphere; (2) Lidar remote sensing; (3) remote sensing of aerosol optical properties; and (4) other research related to atmospheric remote sensing, including GPS remote sensing of precipitable water vapor and radiation modei development.

Recent progress on space-borne microwave sounder pre-launch calibration technologies in China

The development processes and the application achievements of space-borne microwave sounder pre-launch calibration technologies in China are introduced briefly. Then, the general project plan for pre-launch calibration, the latest research achievements on the optimization and development of the microwave wide band calibration targets, emissivity measurement technologies and the system level uncertainty analysis of the laboratory, and the thermal/vacuum microwave sounder calibration system for ＂FY-3＂ meteorological satellite are reported, respectively. Finally, the key technological problems of the calibration technologies under researching are analyzed predictively.

Coupling numerical simulation with remotely sensed information for the study of frozen soil dynamics

The acquisition of spatial-temporal information of frozen soil is fundamental for the study of frozen soil dynamics and its feedback to climate change in cold regions.With advancement of remote sensing and better understanding of frozen soil dynamics,discrimination of freeze and thaw status of surface soil based on passive microwave remote sensing and numerical simulation of frozen soil processes under water and heat transfer principles provides valuable means for regional and global frozen soil dynamic monitoring and systematic spatial-temporal responses to global change.However,as an important data source of frozen soil processes,remotely sensed information has not yet been fully utilized in the numerical simulation of frozen soil processes.Although great progress has been made in remote sensing and frozen soil physics,yet few frozen soil research has been done on the application of remotely sensed information in association with the numerical model for frozen soil process studies.In the present study,a distributed numerical model for frozen soil dynamic studies based on coupled water-heat transferring theory in association with remotely sensed frozen soil datasets was developed.In order to reduce the uncertainty of the simulation,the remotely sensed frozen soil information was used to monitor and modify relevant parameters in the process of model simulation.The remotely sensed information and numerically simulated spatial-temporal frozen soil processes were validated by in-situ field observations in cold regions near the town of Naqu on the East-Central Tibetan Plateau.The results suggest that the overall accuracy of the algorithm for discriminating freeze and thaw status of surface soil based on passive microwave remote sensing was more than 95%.These results provided an accurate initial freeze and thaw status of surface soil for coupling and calibrating the numerical model of this study.The numerically simulated frozen soil processes demonstrated good performance of the distributed numerical model based on the coupled water-heat transferring theory.The relatively larger uncertainties of the numerical model were found in alternating periods between freezing and thawing of surface soil.The average accuracy increased by about 5%after integrating remotely sensed information on the surface soil.The simulation accuracy was significantly improved,especially in transition periods between freezing and thawing of the surface soil.

Interpreting the Shortwave Infrared &Thermal Infrared Regions of Remote Sensed Electromagnetic Spectrum with Application for Mineral-Deposits Exploration

The ASTER (Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection radiometer) data, including all the 3 parts: VNIR (Visible and Near-Infrared), SWIR (Short Wave Infrared), TIR (Thermal Infrared), were applied for extraction of mineral deposits, such as the Ni-Cu deposit in eastern Tianshan, the gypsum in western Tianshan, and the borax in Tibetan. This paper discusses the extraction methodology using the ASTER remote sensing data and reveals the good extraction results. This paper bravely represents the summary of the main achievement for this field by the scientists in other countries and gives a comparison with the works by others. The new achievements, described in this paper, comprise the extraction of anomalies for Ni-Cu deposit, gypsum, and borax.