Engineering Commons^™

Remote Sensing Of Soil Moisture Using S-Band Signals Of Opportunity: Model Development And Experimental Validation, Marvin Jesse, Benjamin Nold, James L. Garrison

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Root zone soil moisture (RZSM) is a vital aspect in meteorology, hydrology, and agriculture. There are currently some methods in passive and active remote sensing at L-band, but these methods are limited to a sensing depth of approximately 10 cm. Observing RZSM (water in the top meter of soil) will require lower frequencies, thus presenting significant difficulties for a spaceborne instrument, because of the required antenna size, the presence of radio-frequency interference (RFI), and competition for spectrum allocations (in the case of active radar). Bistatic radar using Signal of Opportunity (SoOp) (e.g. digital satellite transmitters) provides an opportunity for remote …

Remote Sensing Using I-Band And S-Band Signals Of Opportunity, Kadir Efecik, Benjamin R. Nold, James L. Garrison

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Measurement of soil moisture, especially the root zone soil moisture, is important in agriculture, meteorology, and hydrology. Root zone soil moisture is concerned with the first meter down the soil. Active and passive remote sensing methods used today utilizing L-band(1-2GHz) are physically limited to a sensing depth of about 5 cm or less. To remotely sense the soil moisture in the deeper parts of the soil, the frequency should be lowered. Lower frequencies cannot be used in active spaceborne instruments because of their need for larger antennas, radio frequency interference (RFI), and frequency spectrum allocations. Ground-based passive remote sensing using …

Experimental Testing And Validation Of P-Band Bi-Static Remote Sensing Of Soil Moisture In 137-138mhz Range, Xiangyu Qu, Yao-Cheng Lin, James L. Garrison

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Remote sensing using readily available communication signal transmitted by ORBCOMM satellites at very high frequency (VHF) range (137-138MHz) is a promising method for detecting the root zone soil moisture content. The radio wave reflectivity of soil is strongly correlated to soil moisture content. Therefore, if we were able to measure the reflectivity, we might be able to estimate the soil moisture content. In this preliminary study, we analyze direct signal data from the satellites to investigate and verify communication channels in frequency range of interest and their characteristics (bandwidth, pattern, etc.). The analysis of direct signal data is also used …

Developement Of Data Fusion Methods For An Improved Estimation Of Soil Moisture, Felix Linde

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This talk presents recent work on data fusion methods applied to the estimation of soil moisture by means of remote sensing. Particularly in research dealing with landscapes and agriculture there is a need for spatially and temporally resolved estimation of soil moisture from local to regional level and beyond. The methods to evaluate the water content of the soil range from direct measurements, optical and microwave remote sensing to modeling based on precipitation measurements. Usually the availability of the specific data defines the used method. The uncertainties connected to each way of estimation vary with weather conditions, region and data …

A Centralized Management System For Raster Data, Felix Linde, Ralf Wieland, Karin Groth

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

We present a concept for a system to manage and distribute geo-referenced raster data from multiple possible sources on the institute level. The core concept is to centralize all import routines for data from different sources and formats, store the information in a common data format and distribute the needed information for research purposes upon request. By using hdf5 files, it can be assured that geo-spatial data is always kept in close connection with the corresponding meta-data. Furthermore this approach builds a technical basis for enhancing data fusion methods by allowing the use of common analysis routines, regardless of the …

Assimilation Of Sar And Optical Data Into An Agro-Meteorological Model For Monitoring Yield Of Corn, Maël Ameline, Rémy Fieuzal, Julie Betbeber, Jean-Franҫois Berthoumieu, Frédéric Baup

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This study aims to assess the contribution of SAR and optical satellite images to estimate corn biophysical parameters and crop yield at field scale. Satellite data are assimilated into a simple agro-meteorological model named SAFY-WB (Simple Algorithm For Yield estimates combined with a Water Balance model), in order to simulate leaf area index, dry mass and yield. The method has been assessed thanks to data collected over two study areas (both located in the South-West of France), during two experimental campaigns: MCM’10 and MCM’15 (Multispectral Crop Monitoring), respectively performed in 2010 and 2015. SAR backscattering coefficients were acquired in the …

Refinement And Validation Of A Real-Time Airborne System For Remotely Sensing Ocean Surface Using Communication Satellite Signals, Benjamin R. Nold, Han Zhang, James L. Garrison

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The ability to remotely sense ocean wave heights and wind speed by measuring the reflected Radio Frequency (RF) signals from the ocean’s surface has been demonstrated in previous research projects. The recording systems for these research projects collected and stored unmodified RF signals and then analyzed the data through post-processing. Several disadvantages to this approach include large requirements for data storage and lengthy post-processing time. To assist in the creation of a suitable platform for an airplane-based application, a new system was designed which features real-time processing of the RF signals. This system captures two RF signals in the 2.4 …

P-Band Satellite Remote Sensing Antenna, Nishtha Sinha, James L. Garrison, Lin Yao-Cheng

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Today, there are a huge number of satellites out there in the space orbiting the earth, and there are specific frequency bands allocated for data transmission from these satellites. Signals from these satellites can be accessed at different places on earth, and used for remote sensing. Lower frequency bands are being used in this project, which have not been used earlier for remote sensing. The main idea of this study is to use the properties of two P-band communication satellites to assess their utility for ‘reflectometry’. This remote sensing method is based upon the comparison of the direct and reflected …

Improved Simulation Of Evapotranspiration For Land Use And Climate Change Impact Analysis At Catchment Scale, Ann Van Griensven, Samita Maharjan, Tadesse Alemayehu

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Evapotranspiration is not only one of the major components of the hydrological cycle, it also controls impacts of drivers such as climate and land use changes. One of the widely used simulation tools for climate and impact studies is the Soil and Water Assessment Tool {SWAT). This study evaluates the evapotranspiration processes in SWAT in the Kenyan Mau forest within the Mara basin that drains to Lake Victoria. The study reveals that typical SWAT applications have flaws as in the implementation or parameterisation of tropical forests.

To improve the use of SWAT for land use and climate change studies, the …

Remote Sensing Using Signals Of Opportunity, Alibek Yertay, James L. Garrison

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Today, there are more than eight thousand satellites in space. Therefore, Radio Frequency (RF) signals broadcast from satellites can be accessed from almost every point on the earth. There will be number of satellites available at most points on earth with different frequency bands. These satellite signals can be used for remote sensing, therefore software that visualizes footprints of satellites and shows characteristics of every satellite available at any point would be useful in determining which signals are available for reflectometry, method where direct satellite signals and reflected satellite signals are received and compared for analysis of certain area. There …