Abstract
In addition to investigate the rainfall over the Tibetan Plateau, Microwave Imager observations on board of the satellite Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) have been also used to retrieve land surface parameters, such as sur-face temperature (Te), vegetation water content (Wc), and volumetric soil surface moisture (Mv). A three dimensional Look-up Table (LUT) scheme, by using one band brightness temperature, a 'Polarization Index' (PI), and an 'Index for Soil Wetness' (ISW), was developed for this purpose, which can retrieve the three basic parameters Te, Wc, and Mv simultaneously. Considered that there are still clouds as well as heavy rainfall disturbance in deriving surface parameters over the Tibetan Plateau, 10-day composite TMI images were used. For the five months from May to September 1998, the distribution of surface parameters of each ten days on the mesoscale intensive experimental region of GAME-Tibet was evaluated. The results were compared with field observations; particularly, for the most concerned surface soil moisture, the results are quite acceptable. 3-D LUT is an easy and effective method to be used in the passive microwave remote sensing.
