Spatial variability in microwave radiometric signatures of growing corn and soybean during SMAPVEX16-microwex

In this study, the impact of spatial variability due to the heterogeneity of vegetation in the agricultural region on passive microwave signatures available at various scales are explored using the brightness temperature (T B ) observed from ground, air, and space. These observations were conducted during a growing season of corn and soybean in South Fork watershed, Iowa, as part of the NASA-Soil Moisture Active Passive Validation Experiment (SMAPVEX16). Both empirical and physically-based microwave emission models are used to understand the effects of vegetation on T B for corn and soybean using ground-based T B observations. The modeled T B will be upscaled based upon the USDA crop layer map to compare with the T B observed in the coarse scales.