Soil Moisture Mapping based on Thermal Inertia from NOAA-11 satellite AVHRR Measurements

Abstract

Thermal inertia of material is well developed in physics and can be used for soil moisture measurement. In this study, it was clarified that the thermal inertia of soilwas able to be measured by the heat balance parameters on the earth's surface.
The author has developed a model for determining soil moisture based on a thermal inertia model from an experiment carried out for the mapping of the distribution of soil moisture in Northeastern China. Also, discriminant analysis for land cover classification, computer mapping and overlay/compilation of maps were systematically utilized for soil moisture mapping.
Nevertheless, improvement must be made on many points in the field measurement system. When the problem is solved, this mapping procedure is applicable to the accurate determinations of soil moisture in future studies.