01695nas a2200181   4500008004100000022001400041245013500055210006900190260001200259300001400271490000700285520107500292100002101367700001601388700002401404700002001428856006501448       2014                        eng d  a0954-102000aHyperspectral measurements of wet, dry and saline soils from the McMurdo Dry Valleys: soil moisture properties from remote sensing0 aHyperspectral measurements of wet dry and saline soils from the   c10/2014  a565 - 5720 v263 a<p>Soil moisture is a spatially heterogeneous quantity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica that exerts a large influence on the biological community and on the thermal state of Dry Valleys permafrost. The goal of this project was to determine whether hyperspectral remote sensing techniques could be used to determine soil moisture conditions in the Dry Valleys. We measured the spectral reflectance factors of wetted soil samples from the Dry Valleys under natural light conditions and related diagnostic spectral features to surface layer soil moisture content. Diagnostic water absorption features in the spectra at 1.4 &micro;m and 1.9 &micro;m were present in all samples, including samples doped with high concentrations of chloride salts. The depth of the 1.4 &micro;m absorption is shown to increase linearly with increasing gravimetric water content. These results suggest that airborne hyperspectral imaging of the Dry Valleys could generate soil moisture maps of this environment over large spatial areas using non-invasive remote-sensing techniques.</p>1 aLevy, Joseph, S.1 aNolin, Anne1 aFountain, Andrew, G1 aHead, James, W.  uhttp://www.journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0954102013000977