Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer (PSR) C band soil moisture retrieval in the Southern Great Plains 1999 experiment

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) holds the great promise for soil moisture mapping in regions of low levels of vegetation. Soil moisture retrieval algorithms for AMSR have been proposed but have not been rigorously evaluated. The Southern Great Plains 1999 Experiment (SGP99) was designed to provide aircraft data sets for algorithm development and validation. Ground observations of soil moisture and related variables were collected in conjunction with aircraft measurements using the NOAA Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer C-band scanhead (PSR/C). The PSR/C operates at a band identical to that of the 6.92 GHz channel of AMSR. Flights were conducted under a wide range of soil moisture conditions, thus providing a robust data set for validation.