Drought monitoring in Yunnan province with AMSR-E-based data

Abstract

In this study, the optical depth of vegetation is worked out with Microwave Polarization Difference Index (MPDI) focusing on the drought that hit Yunnan in early 2010 and using AMSR-E data of the first three months of 2010 in Yunnan Province. Inversion of soil moisture is conducted by using Microwave radiative transfer model and Dielectric constant model, and thereupon drought grading is made, so that the drought grades of the first three months of 2010 in most of the regions in Yunnan Province are obtained. By verifying the retrieval results by means of the soil moisture data collected from ground-based measurements, the conclusion of this study is drawn: with the research method by which soil moisture is retrieved from AMSR-E data, and thereupon the drought grading is made, the drought in Yunnan Province can be effectively monitored.