| Abstract: | Abstract A time series analysis of 152 VV-polarized Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) Wide Swath Mode (WSM) images collected over the central part of the Tibetan Plateau is presented for the period from April 2005 to September 2007. The signatures of a grassland and a wetland are studied to identify the impact of three land-surface states on the backscatter (σ°). The considered land-surface states are soil moisture, soil temperature and vegetation biomass represented by Système Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Comparison of the σ° time series with these land-surface states via a multivariate regression shows that the grassland σ° are well represented by the soil moisture dynamics, while the wetland σ° also has a strong correlation with soil temperature. Further, we found that the contribution of the NDVI to the explanation of the temporal σ° variability is limited for both the grassland and wetland. |
