Seasonal Dependence of SMAP Radiometer-Based Soil Moisture Performance as Observed over Core Validation Sites

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingArticle in proceedingsResearchpeer-review

  • A. Colliander
  • T. J. Jackson
  • S. K. Chan
  • P. O'Neill
  • R. Bindlish
  • M. H. Cosh
  • T. Caldwell
  • J. P. Walker
  • A. Berg
  • H. McNairn
  • M. Thibeault
  • J. Martinez-Fernandez
  • J. Asanuma
  • M. S. Seyfried
  • D. D. Bosch
  • P. J. Starks
  • C. Holifield Collins
  • J. H. Prueger
  • Z. Su
  • S. H. Yueh

The NASA SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) mission provides a global coverage of soil moisture measurements based on its L-band microwave radiometer every 2-3 days at about 40 km resolution. The soil moisture retrieval algorithms model the brightness temperature as a function of soil moisture, surface conditions and vegetation. External data sources inform the algorithms about the surface conditions and vegetation, which enable the retrieval of soil moisture. The inversion process contains uncertainties related to radiometer measurements, forward model assumptions and ancillary data sources. This study focuses on the uncertainties that depend on the seasonal evolution of the surface conditions and vegetation. The study compares the SMAP and core validation site (CVS) soil moisture values over a period of four years to extract the evolution of performance metrics over time. The analysis showed that most CVS that include managed agriculture exhibit significant time-dependent seasonal bias. This bias was linked to seasonal temperature cycle, which is a proxy to several features that can cause seasonally dependent errors in the SMAP product.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2019 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, IGARSS 2019 - Proceedings
Number of pages4
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Publication date2019
Pages5320-5323
Article number8899007
ISBN (Electronic)9781538691540
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Event39th IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, IGARSS 2019 - Yokohama, Japan
Duration: 28 Jul 20192 Aug 2019

Conference

Conference39th IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, IGARSS 2019
LandJapan
ByYokohama
Periode28/07/201902/08/2019
SponsorThe Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS)
SeriesInternational Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS)

    Research areas

  • core validation site, SMAP, Soil Moisture

ID: 238637822