Sensitivity Analysis of Microwave Sensors to Various Soil Types and Their Soil Moisture Content

Sangita Kalita, Anuraag Deka, Bikramjit Goswami

Abstract


Understanding soil moisture content is extremely important to model areas for suitability analysis of different plantations and to predict natural disasters like landslides, floods, etc. It also influences hydrological and ecological processes. In the present work, a microwave sensing system with transmitter and receiver antennas in the C band is experimented with. The sensitivity of the sensor system is compared with the changes in soil moisture levels for different soil types available in the North Eastern Region of India using the laboratory-based setup. Suitable frequency determination for such a microwave-range soil moisture sensor is directly related to remote sensing satellite applications. The sensor system is found to be highly sensitive to soil moisture changes in various soil types. However, the determination of the exact frequency range that is suitable to detect soil moisture changes in different soil types is required for satellite remote sensing applications in the microwave range. Especially for the typical alluvial soil types of the Brahmaputra valley, a detailed sensitivity study using the microwave sensor is done in the current study. Thus, this paper presents the study results for determining the most suitable C-band frequency for soil moisture monitoring using active microwave sensors.

Keywords


Active Microwave Sensor; backscattering Power, C-band; Soil Moisture

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References


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