Crop phenology and soil moisture applications of SCATSAT-1

Abstract

SCATSAT-1 measures the backscattering coefficient over land surfaces, which is a function of vegetation structure, surface roughness, soil moisture content, incidence angle and dielectric properties of vegetation. Scatterometer image reconstruction techniques provide fine resolution data to explore the emerging applications over land by using ambiguous backscatter from land. In this paper, 2 km resolution products of ISRO's scatterometer SCATSAT-1 are exploited for land target detection, rice crop phenology stages detection for kharif and rabi seasons and estimation of relative soil moisture over parts of India. Temporal and spatial backscatter changes are due to seasonal and changes in Land Use Land Cover. Crop phenology stages such as transplanting, maximum tillering, panicle emergence and physiological maturity stages are identified by analysing SCATSAT-1 time series along with NDVI and findings are supported by appropriate ground truth observations and crop cutting experiment (CCE) data. The relative soil moisture change detection is validated with in situ ground truth measurements using Hydraprobe, carried for SCATSAT-1 ascending and descending passes. © 2019 Current Science Association, Bengaluru.