[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The retrieval of surface microwave emissivity can be subject to
significant errors due to the contributions from atmospheric emission
and absorption. These errors, which depend on both the surface microwave
emissivity and atmospheric water vapour content, can be more than 0.1.
The errors will affect the interpretation of the geophysical parameters
based on the surface microwave emissivity, for example soil moisture,
surface roughness and vegetation cover, which are of interest for global
change studies and other applications. The authors present a new
technique for correcting brightness temperature measurements and
retrieving the microwave surface emissivity. The method uses
simultaneous measurements from the ERS-1 microwave and infrared
radiometers. Radiative transfer simulations using a microwave
atmospheric model incorporating a North Atlantic range of atmospheres
show that the surface microwave emissivity can be retrieved to an
accuracy of 0.001 r.m.s. for atmospheres less than 2.5
gm/cm<sup>-3</sup> in water vapour content. A validation study of the
technique over the ocean is presented and possible sources of residual
error are discussed
Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 1995. IGARSS '95. 'Quantitative Remote Sensing for Science and Applications', International; 08/1995
