Soil moisture estimation under sparse vegetation using microwave radiometry at C-band

The space borne microwave radiometer will have a lowest frequency in the C-band. The authors have to prepare the use of this band to estimate the soil moisture. This paper considers the case of sparsely vegetated areas encountered in a semi-arid area. This paper is based on the HAPEX-Sahel data set. The authors show that the single scattering albedo could be neglected at C-band when the amount of vegetation is low. The vegetation transmission coefficient can be estimated from the polarization difference at 5.05 GHz and an angle of incidence of 45/spl deg/. However the obtained relationship needs to be tested in various wetness conditions.