Calibration of different scattering mechanisms for soil moisture retrieval over corn fields

In this paper, we apply the Generalized Freeman-Durden polarimetric decomposition to L-band quad-polarimetric SAOCOM-1A data acquired over corn fields in Argentina. The objective was to highlight the sensitivity of the different scattering mechanisms to soil moisture changes and/or vegetation. The results, in terms of scattered powers, are compared with the outcomes of the Tor Vergata electromagnetic model to verify if the decomposition properly assigns the powers to the correct scattering mechanisms. The Tor Vergata model is then used to tune the scattering contributions obtained from the decomposition and a simple linear regression model is applied to estimate soil moisture. Preliminary results of this exercise are reported in terms of Root Mean Square Error and Pearson’s linear correlation.