Experimental Results of Snow and Soil Moisture Measurement from Non-Vegetated and Vegetated Sites Using P-Band Signals of Opportunity

This paper shows results from a proof-of-concept tower experiment that computed phase and reflectivity from a reflected P-band signal. The change in phase of the reflected signal is related to SWE for dry snow and the rate of change of phase is directly correlated to frequency of observation. The effect of vegetation was also evaluated by using measurements from two towers: one with bare soil and one surrounded by small trees with heights of up to 3 meters. SWE has been retrieved from two sites with RMSD of 1.15-1.6 cm for different frequencies and sites. In addition, sensitivity in reflectivity measurement at 260 MHz due to changes in soil moisture was observed in summer 2018 data.