Measuring vegetation water content by looking at trees blowing in the wind

Satellite-based soil moisture measurements have shown a diurnal variation in soil water content in Ghana. Most likely this diurnal variation is due to variation of moisture content in vegetation, as was measured by Friesen et al. Understanding the specifics of this cycle and it’s relation with radar backscatter would help improve the estimation of soil moisture from satellites as well as provide a new source of information: vegetation water content (ie. plant water stress) from satellites.