Validation of RADARSAT-2 Soil Moisture Measurements.

Soil moisture is an important parameter for applications in agriculture and hydrology. The extraction of soil moisture information from single polarization radar images requires a substantial amount of supporting information. The polarimetric capabilities of RADARSAT-2 not only increases data availability but is also expected to yield more information on soil moisture. This study validated RADARSAT-2 soil moisture maps by comparison with field soil moisture measurements at five sites with different surface and moisture conditions in the valley of the Rio Grande and its uplands, close to Socorro, New Mexico. RADARSAT-2 soil moisture maps have specific limitations related to the features of the terrain (surface roughness, vegetation coverage) and antecedent moisture conditions of soil (previous rainfall events).