| Change detection approaches were used to study soil moisture with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). In 2001, a temporal backscatter signature approach was used at a study site on Boothia Peninsula, Nunavut, to examine the variation in mean radar backscatter over a 1563 km2 watershed for a series of six RADARSAT Standard S1 images. It was found that an early season decrease in radar backscatter corresponded to increasingly wet snow conditions associated with the nival melt period. A 22.6 mm precipitation event resulted in a backscatter spike while progressively drier conditions later in the season led to an overall diminishing backscatter trend. Over a smaller 20 km2 area, mean soil moisture derived for 33 sample sites was compared with mean radar backscatter. A positive correlation (r 2 = 0.4) suggests that regional evaluation of moisture conditions based on radar backscatter is possible for arctic basins.; A second study site at Cape Bounty, Melville Island, Nunavut was established in 2004 to determine the potential for ratio image and principal component analysis (PCA) change detection techniques for estimating soil moisture change. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
