Understanding the Vegetation Effects at Frozen Enviroment by Theory and Field Experiment

Theory and experiments have shown that microwave radiation can be used to study the characteristics of frozen soil. However, the presence of a vegetation cover alters the signatures that directly come from bare frozen soil surface. In this paper, we use a complex passive microwave model to simulate the radiative transfer and attenuation properties of vegetation covers. The model is based on radiative transfer theory and solves the relevant equation by means of a numerical algorithm, namely Matrix-Doubling, which includes multiple scattering effects. The total emissivity may be simulated for any incidence angles. The phase difference between VV and HH channels is also computed. Model simulations are compared with experimental results obtained at K and Ka band by a truckmounted dual-polarization microwave radiometer, over a peach field in Baoding, China. A satisfactory agreement is observed between calculated and measured data.