Observed and modeled radiobrightness of prairie grass during early fall

The authors' Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer (SVAT) model for northern prairie tracks energy and moisture fluxes at the land-atmosphere interface, and predicts radiobrightness at the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) frequencies of 19.35, 37.0, and 85.5 GHz. Prairie data were collected during their first Radiobrightness Energy Balance Experiment, REBEX-1, near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, during the fall and winter of 1992-1993. The authors compare the predictions of a simple refractive emission model for prairie grass with observed radiobrightnesses for a snow-free period in October.