High Resolution Soil Moisture Profile Mapping Using P- and L-band Active and Passive Microwave Observations

Soil moisture plays a vital role in Earth system processes, thus being essential for a range of hydro-climatological and agricultural applications. This research explored the potential of integrating P- and L-band active (radar) and passive (radiometer) microwave observations to acquire high-resolution multi-layer soil moisture information from space. A novel multi-frequency active–passive satellite concept was proposed, and several retrieval frameworks were developed. The most effective retrieval framework was recommended for future soil moisture-dedicated satellite missions, offering new insights for the design of next-generation Earth observation systems.