Analysis of the relationship between backscattered P-band radar signals and soil roughness

Mehrez Zribi (1) , M. Sahnoun (1) , N. Baghdadi (2) , Thuy Le Toan (1) , A. Ben Hamida (1)

1 CESBIO - Centre d'études spatiales de la biosphère
2 UMR TETIS - Territoires, Environnement, Télédétection et Information Spatiale

In this paper, the potential use of P-band radar signals for the estimation of soil roughness parameters is analyzed. The numerical moment method backscattering model is used to study the sensitivity to soil roughness parameters of backscattered P-band signals. Two roughness scales related to terrain microtopography and low frequency roughness structures are considered. In the case of microtopography, the rms height is shown to be the dominant influence in the relationship between radar signals and roughness. For low frequency structures, the parameter Zs is strongly correlated with the backscattered signals. An analysis of the behavior of P-band radar signals as a function of multi-scale soil roughness (microtopography and large-scale roughness structures) reveals the complexity of using P-band data for the study of bare surface soil parameters. The Moment method model is then compared with the real data covering a large range of microtopographic roughness values, derived from experimental airborne P-band SAR campaigns made over agricultural fields, at two sites in France. The significant discrepancies observed between measurements and simulations confirm the limitations of an analysis based on microtopographic characterizations only.

Mots clés: remote sensing; radar; signal processing; radar return; roughness

Mots clés: TELEDETECTION; TRAITEMENT DU SIGNAL; RETRODIFFUSION RADAR; RUGOSITE

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement

Mehrez Zribi, M. Sahnoun, N. Baghdadi, Thuy Le Toan, A. Ben Hamida. Analysis of the relationship between backscattered P-band radar signals and soil roughness. Remote Sensing of Environment, 2016, 186, pp.13-21. ⟨hal-01394292⟩