Assessment of a Coherent Model Using C-Band over Cornfields in Mexico

A phenology-based coherent scattering model was used to estimate terrain backscatter at the C-band for growing corn. The scattering model accounted for combined effects from row structure and phenological changes in the plant. The study was done in central Mexico in the region of Huamantla, Tlaxcala using the dataset collected during the THEXMEX19 campaigns. Model simulations showed an RMSD of 4.75 dB when compared with Sentinel-1 observations at VV- polarization and, for RADARSAT-2 observations, an RMSD of 5.76 dB at VV-pol and 7.01 dB at HH-pol.