Toward P-Band Passive Microwave Sensing of Soil Moisture

Currently, near-surface soil moisture at a global scale is being provided using National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) and European Space Agency's (ESA's) Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellites, both of which utilize L-band (1.4 GHz; 21 cm wavelength ) passive microwave remote sensing techniques. However, a fundamental limitation of this technology is that the water content can...