Comparing remote sensing data (ERS-1 C-band SAR and airborne TIR) for the derivation of the spatial distribution of soil moisture on a local scale

Discusses the applicability of remotely sensed data from different platforms as an additional data set to ground measurements for the determination of the spatial variability and distribution of soil moisture on a local scale. A plane agricultural test site of ≈3 km ² in Central Europe is used for a comparison of simultaneously recorded high resolution (<0.2 m) thermal infrared data with C-band microwave data (<30 m). In situ measurements attach the remote sensing data to ground truth. It accounts for the heterogeneity in landform, soil and vegetative cover in a resolution of less than a hectare