403-3 Initial Validation of the Soil Moisture Active Passive Mission Using USDA-ARS Watersheds.

See more from this Division: SSSA Division: Soil Physics and Hydrology
See more from this Session: Remote Sensing of Soil Water: Soil Moisture Active Passive and Beyond

Wednesday, November 18, 2015: 2:20 PM
Minneapolis Convention Center, L100 F

Michael H. Cosh1, Thomas Jackson2, Rajat Bindlish3, Andreas Colliander4, Lynn McKee5, Patrick Starks6, Mark S Seyfried7, John H. Prueger8, Stanley Livingston9, Dave Goodrich10, David D. Bosch11, Evan Coopersmith3, Brian K. Hornbuckle12, Steven Chan13, Seungbum Kim4, Narendra Das13 and Simon H Yueh4, (1)10300 Baltimore Ave, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD
(2)Hydrology and Remote Sensing Lab, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD
(3)USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD
(4)Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
(5)Hydrology and Remote Sensing Lab., USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD
(6)Grazinglands Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, El Reno, OK
(7)Northwest Watershed Research Center, USDA-ARS, Boise, ID
(8)National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, Ames, IA
(9)USDA-ARS, National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory, West Lafayette, IN
(10)USDA-ARS, Tucson, AZ
(11)USDA-ARS, Tifton, GA
(12)Iowa State University, Ames, IA
(13)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Abstract:
The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Mission was launched in January 2015 to measure global surface soil moisture. The calibration and validation program of SMAP relies upon an international cooperative of in situ networks to provide ground truth references across a variety of landscapes. The USDA Agricultural Research Service operates several experimental watersheds as part of this project with distributed soil moisture networks, measuring soil moisture at a 5 cm depth. Comparisons of the in situ networks to the satellite products are ongoing, but initial results have shown a good correspondence between satellite estimates and the in situ soil moisture resources, once scaling functions are applied. The satellite products available are reviewed and the scaling methodologies for the in situ networks are discussed, including lessons learned. Results from the Little Washita, Fort Cobb, St. Joseph’s and Little River Experimental Watersheds show a good correspondence between the satellite products and in situ estimates. Reynolds Creek and Walnut Gulch show high accuracy, though with the caveat that these domains are semi-arid with small dynamic range. The South Fork Watershed is examined more closely for its detailed scaling function development and some apparent bias between the satellite and in situ estimates.

See more from this Division: SSSA Division: Soil Physics and Hydrology
See more from this Session: Remote Sensing of Soil Water: Soil Moisture Active Passive and Beyond