APPLEx
Active-Passive P- and L-band Experiment
This project tests alternate configurations for remote sensing of
soil moisture using a new state-of-the-art Active/Passive (ie
radar/radiometer) P-/L-band (ie microwave) satellite concept through
a series of airborne field experiments. Timely soil moisture
information is critical to improved water management for food
production in the face of climate variability. The challenge is to
do this accurately over large areas with an appropriate
spatiotemporal detail, and for a soil depth that closely
approximates the layer which impacts crop/pasture growth and
influences management decisions. The longer P-band allows deeper
penetration into the soil while the active/passive combination uses
the respective resolution and accuracy characteristics.
Soil moisture is a highly critical resource for the Australian agricultural economy which is stressed by climate change. Daily monitoring of paddock scale soil moisture from space represents a powerful tool to inform land management, allowing accurate crop yield and pasture growth predictions. At the continental scale, soil moisture information will result in better weather, climate and extreme flood prediction skill and the ability to assess effects of climate change on Australia. It is therefore critical that farmers and scientists have access to the soil moisture data they need, so the available water can be optimised for food production and the climate impacts better understood. This project lays the foundation for a new satellite capability to meet this need; successful demonstration of a combined L- and P-band Active and Passive sensing technology may lead to a dedicated satellite that would supersede the L-band SMOS (passive only) and SMAP (active and passive) satellites. It will also allow for operational soil moisture from the L-band NISAR and P-band BIOMASS active satellites soon to be launched.
Experiment Date APPLEx-1 January 27 to February 26, 2022 APPLEx-2 October 15 to November 12, 2022
Created: August 2021 Last Modified: August 2021
Maintainer: Xiaoling Wu, xiaoling.wu@monash.edu; Luisa White, luisa.whitemurillo@monash.edu