Retrieval of Soil Moisture from FengYun-3D Microwave Radiation Imager Operational and Recalibrated Data Using Random Forest Regression

Abstract

Three Microwave Radiation Imagers (MWRI) were carried onboard the FengYun-3B/C/D satellites and have collected more than 10 years of data since 2010. To create a robust climate quality of data, MWRI level one data were reprocessed with new calibration. This study evaluates the performance of retrieving global soil moisture from recalibrated MWRI data (RCD) and quantifies the difference of retrieved soil moisture between operational calibration data (OCD) and RCD. Soil Moisture Operational Products System (SMOPS) products from NOAA on four days of different seasons were collocated with MWRI brightness temperatures, and then the collocated data were used for training an algorithm through machine learning. The retrieved soil moisture products using OCD and RCD were evaluated against the independent SMOPS products, in situ networks and SMAP soil moisture product. It is shown that the algorithm from the random forest is suitable for FY-3D recalibrated MWRI data, with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.7223, a mean bias of −0.0062 and an unbiased root mean square difference (ubRMSD) of 0.0476 m3 m−3 compared with SMOPS products over the period from 12 July 2018 to 31 December 2019. The difference of retrieved soil moisture using OCD and RCD is spatially heterogeneous. Both temporal and spatial coverage and accuracy of the existing FY-3D operational soil moisture products are significantly improved.