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N. Verhoest, H. Lievens, W. Wagner, J. Álvarez-Mozos, S. Moran, F. Mattia:
"On the Soil Roughness Parameterization Problem in Soil Moisture Retrieval of Bare Surfaces from Synthetic Aperture Radar";
Sensors, 8 (2008), 36 pages.

Synthetic Aperture Radar has shown its large potential for retrieving soil
moisture maps at regional scales. However, since the backscattered signal is determined by
several surface characteristics, the retrieval of soil moisture is an ill-posed problem when
using single configuration imagery. Unless accurate surface roughness parameter values are
available, retrieving soil moisture from radar backscatter usually provides inaccurate
estimates. The characterization of soil roughness is not fully understood, and a large range
of roughness parameter values can be obtained for the same surface when different
measurement methodologies are used. In this paper, a literature review is made that
summarizes the problems encountered when parameterizing soil roughness as well as the
reported impact of the errors made on the retrieved soil moisture. A number of suggestions
were made for resolving issues in roughness parameterization and studying the impact of
these roughness problems on the soil moisture retrieval accuracy and scale.

Soil roughness, Soil moisture retrieval, Synthetic Aperture Radar, Uncertainty

http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s8074213

http://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/PubDat_165688.pdf