Active-Passive Disaggregation of Brightness Temperatures During the SMAPVEX12 Campaign

The goal of this study is to assess the performance of the active-passive disaggregation algorithm for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission using airborne observations from the Soil Moisture Active Passive Validation Experiment 2012 (SMAPVEX12). This algorithm disaggregates the whole domain resolution (around 30 km) radiometer brightness temperature (TB) using the 1.6-km-resolution radar backscatter (sigma degrees) observations (both acquired by the aircraft-based Passive Active L-and S-band Sensor), to a medium 6.4-km resolution. The parameters of the disaggregation method are affected by changes in soil and vegetation. Different time windows are studied to assess the best representation of the campaign vegetation growth and senescence processes. The algorithm performance is evaluated by comparing disaggregated and observed TB at the medium resolution. A minimum performance algorithm is also applied where the radar data are withheld. The minimum performance algorithm serves as a benchmark to assess the value of the radar to the SMAP active-passive algorithm.