Modeling and Retrieving Soil Moisture and Organic Matter Profiles in the Active Layer of Permafrost Soils From P-Band Radar Observations

Abstract

In this paper, a harmonized soil parametrization that accounts for both soil organic matter (SOM) content and degree of decomposition are used to parametrize the hydraulic properties of permafrost soils. Using the wilting point calculated from the soil-water retention curve to inform the amount of bound water in a soil medium, we construct a soil dielectric mixing model effective across the full range of SOM levels. The active layer soils are parametrized as profile functions of SOM and soil moisture in the radar retrievals. The NASA P-band Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS) data acquired as part of 2017 Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) airborne campaign are used to demonstrate the potentials of retrieving SOM and soil moisture profiles from P-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR).