Environmental effects on the interferometric repeat-pass coherence of forests

Abstract

The variability of C-band one-day tandem coherence measurements of forest is analyzed both statistically and with the aid of a soil-vegetation-atmosphere transfer model coupled to models for dielectric, backscattering coefficient, and coherence. Coherence depends strongly on both moisture and wind conditions. The dependence between coherence and moisture fluctuations in the soil and canopy is simulated using a simplified coherence model neglecting canopy coherence; trends are similar to those observed in measured coherence, but the range of variability observed in the satellite data is underestimated. Improved consistency with the data is achieved by using empirical estimates of canopy coherence derived from mature forest, but still with underestimated variability. The canopy coherence values cannot be predicted from the environmental model, and anomalous observations prevent the formulation of a reliable empirical predictor based on weather data; this could potentially be improved if higher time resolution wind data were made available. The study also suggests that canopy dielectric can vary rapidly in daylight, and that current models for dielectric may be inadequate to capture the effect of this behavior on coherence.