Authors: Dr. Ananya Mehta, Rohit Sharma
Abstract: Soil moisture plays a crucial role in geotechnical studies, directly influencing slope stability, settlement rates, shear strength, and foundation design. Traditional field-based measurement techniques, while accurate, are often restricted by cost, labor, and spatial limitations. Remote sensing provides a cost effective, large-scale, and repeatable approach for estimating soil moisture, enabling continuous monitoring across vast regions. This paper examines remote sensing techniques such as active microwave (Synthetic Aperture Radar), passive microwave radiometry, optical, and thermal sensing, and evaluates their relevance to geotechnical applications. Challenges including vegetation interference, surface roughness, and calibration issues are addressed. The integration of multi-sensor data, advanced retrieval algorithms, and machine learning is highlighted as a path toward improving soil moisture estimation accuracy in operational geotechnical projects.
Keywords: Remote sensing, Soil moisture, Geotechnical studies, SAR, Passive microwave, Optical sensing, Thermal sensing
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