Title
Effects of Near-Surface Soil Moisture on GPS SNR Data: Development of a Retrieval Algorithm for Soil Moisture
Abstract
Global Positioning System (GPS) multipath signals can be used to infer volumetric soil moisture around a GPS antenna. While most GPS users concentrate on the signal that travels directly from the satellite to the antenna, the signal that is reflected by nearby surfaces contains information about the environment surrounding the antenna. The interference between the direct and reflected signals produces a modulation that can be observed in temporal variations of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) data recorded by the GPS receiver. Changes in the dielectric constant of the soil, which are associated with fluctuations in soil moisture, affect the effective reflector height, amplitude, and phase of the multipath modulation. Empirical studies have shown that these changes in SNR data are correlated with near-surface volumetric soil moisture. This study uses an electrodynamic single-scattering forward model to test the empirical relationships observed in field data. All three GPS interferogram metrics (effective reflector height, phase, and amplitude) are affected by soil moisture in the top 5 cm of the soil; surface soil moisture (<;1-cm depth) exerts the strongest control. Soil type exerts a negligible impact on the relationships between GPS interferogram metrics and soil moisture. Phase is linearly correlated with surface soil moisture. The slope of the relationship is similar to that observed in field data. Amplitude and effective reflector height are also affected by soil moisture, although the relationship is nonlinear. Phase is the best metric derived from GPS data to use as a proxy for soil moisture variations.
Year
DOI
Venue
2014
10.1109/TGRS.2013.2242332
IEEE T. Geoscience and Remote Sensing
Keywords
Field
DocType
surface soil moisture,dielectric constant,field data,global positioning system,remote sensing,moisture,volumetric soil moisture,gps users,direct signals,temporal variations,signal-to-noise ratio data,multipath modulation,effective reflector height,electrodynamic single-scattering forward model,gps antenna,hydrological techniques,gps interferogram metrics,remote sensing by radar,reflector antennas,near-surface volumetric soil moisture,geophysical signal processing,reflectometry,amplitude modulation,gps receiver,radar,retrieval algorithm,global positioning system multipath signals,near-surface soil moisture,global positioning system (gps),permittivity,radar interferometry,soil,gps snr data,soil moisture variations,reflected signals,interference (signal)
Multipath propagation,Moisture,Remote sensing,Soil type,Global Positioning System,Amplitude modulation,Water content,Amplitude,Assisted GPS,Mathematics
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
52
1
0196-2892
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
4
1.48
6
Authors
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Clara C. Chew1103.58
Eric E. Small212918.61
Kristine M. Larson39715.30
Valery U. Zavorotny410517.02