Abstract-This study is concerned with the development of a model to describe microwave emission from terrain covered by wet snow. The model is based on the radiative transfer theory and the strong fluctuation theory. Wet snow is treated in the model as a mixture of dry snow and water inclusions. The shape of the water inclusions is taken into account. The effective permittivity is calculated by using the two-phase strong fluctuation theory model with nonsymmetrical inclusions. The phase matrix and the extinction coefficient of wet snow for an anisotropic correlation function with azimuth symmetric are used. The vector radiative transfer equation for a layer of a random medium was solved by using Gaussian quadrature and eigen analysis. The model behaviour is illustrated by using typical parameters encountered in microwave remote sensing of wet snow. Comparisons with emissivity data at 11, 21 and 35 GHz are made. It is shown that the model predictions fit the experimental data.

No abstract