Validation of Microwave Models to Identify Extreme Conditions in Mexican Ecosystems

Currently, for developing countries, the estimation of conditions in agricultural areas is provided with high uncertainty due to the lack of information. The implementation of new technologies allows the improvement in the management of agricultural resources. Advances in technology have made satellite remote sensing a powerful tool for agricultural monitoring due to its ability to observe changes in vegetation. However, access to accurate estimates of surface parameters from satellite information at a global level is reduced primarily because satellite platforms of space agencies such as NASA and ESA have be located at latitudes higher than 30°.en mainly using information from particular study sites. Therefore, these are only accurate in areas with characteristics similar to those for which the satellite mission was calibrated/validated. For this reason, this work proposes to calibrate and validate electromagnetic microwave models in an area of rainfed fields in central Mexico. The models used in this work were the τ-ω model (passive model) and the Water Cloud Model (active model). Both models were calibrated using in situ data collected over an agricultural area. Additionally, the characteristics of the SMAP and Sentinel-1 satellite missions were considered to calibrate the models. Comparison between observations and simulations will allow finding a difference of 10 K for the passive case and less than 1 db for the active case.