Large area mapping of soil moisture using the ESTAR passive microwave radiometer in Washita'92

Washita'92 was a large-scale study of remote sensing and hydrology conducted on the Little Washita watershed in southwest Oklahoma. Data collection during the experiment included passive microwave observations using an L-band electronically scanned thinned array radiometer ( ESTAR) and surface soil moisture observations at sites distributed over the area. Data were collected on 8 days over a 9-day period in June 1992. The watershed was saturated with a great deal of standing water at the outset of the study. During the experiment there was no rainfall and surface soil moisture observations exhibited a drydown pattern over the period. Significant variations in the level and rate of change in surface soil moisture were noted over areas dominated by different soil textures. ESTAR data were processed to produce brightness temperature maps of a 740 sq. km. area on each of the 8 days. These data exhibited significant spatial and temporal patterns. Spatial patterns were clearly associated with soil textures and temporal patterns with drainage and evaporative processes. Relationships between the groundsampled soil moisture and the brightness temperatures were consistent with previous results. Spatial averaging of both variables was analyzed to study scaling of soil moisture over a mixed landscape. Results of these studies showed that a strong correlation is retained at these scales, suggesting that mapping surface moisture for large footprints may provide important information for regional studies.