Drought Monitoring and Evapotranspiration (ET): Physical scientist Martha Anderson and hydrologist Bill Kustas view a global scale map of ET generated with the ALEXI model.
Soil Moisture Estimation: Soil scientist Lynn McKee and physical scientist Joseph Alfieri collect soil moisture measurements in the field.
The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite measures the amount of water in the top 5 cm of soil everywhere on Earth’s surface, every 2-3 days.
Soil and Water Quality Investigations: Agronomist Craig Daughtry and Andy Russ use a portable spectroradiometer to measure reflectance of crop residue to assess soil tillage intensity.
Physical scientists Dean Hively and Ray Hunt measure vegetation "greenness" which is related to the crop's nitrogen status.
Watershed Modeling: Soil scientist Greg McCarty and chemist Cathleen Hapeman use an Acoustic Doppler Channel Profiler to assess water velocity and channel geometry of a Choptank Watershed stream.
Surface Energy Balance: Hydrologist Bill Kustas checks the position of a water vapor/CO2 sensor and sonic anemometer, which measure the turbulent exchange of water, energy, and CO2 between the soil-plant system and the lower atmosphere. A dry river bed illustrates the severe ecological and economic consequences of prolonged drought.
Mission
The mission of the Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory is to conduct nationally oriented basic and applied research on the use of remote sensing in addressing water and soil resource concerns related to the production of food and fiber, climate change and the conservation of natural resources.People
