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Title: TRMM Microwave Imager soil moisture mapping and flooding during CLASIC

Author
item Jackson, Thomas
item BINDLISH, R - SSAI
item WANG, Y - VISITING SCIENTIST
item Cosh, Michael

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2008
Publication Date: 3/23/2009
Citation: Jackson, T.J., Bindlish, R., Wang, Y., Cosh, M.H. 2009. TRMM microwave imager soil moisture mapping and flooding during CLASIC [abstract]. Progress in Electromagnetic Remote Sensing. 2009 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Passive microwave remote sensing has the potential to contribute to flood risk and impact assessment through the direct relationship between emissivity and soil moisture/standing water. Lower frequencies have greater potential because the impacts of atmospheric and vegetation attenuation are minimized. Although the current satellite sensor spatial resolution is quite coarse for some applications such as flash flooding, they can allow us to study large scale flooding events that extend over longer durations (greater than 2-3 days). Global products from sensors such as the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-AMSR are available approximately every other day. This may not be a useful interval for either warnings or post flood assessments. The TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI), especially near its maximum latitude bands of coverage (+/-38o), provides high frequency temporal coverage during an approximate 6 hour time window every day. Although the time window changes systematically from day to day, this unique capability allows us to examine the temporal dynamics of soil moisture and standing water associated with flooding. The concepts described were evaluated using data collected as part of the Cloud Land Surface Interaction Campaign (CLASIC) conducted in Oklahoma during the summer of 2007. CLASIC was intended to examine the mechanisms that exist between land surface variables such as soil moisture and temperature and the atmosphere. Extensive ground and aircraft observations of these variables were made during June-July over a large region of the Oklahoma Southern Great Plains. Extreme conditions were encountered during the CLASIC field experiment. The summer precipitation over the Southern Great Plains was significantly greater than the average and resulted in new historic records in many areas. This rainfall resulted in widespread and repeated flooding throughout Oklahoma and Texas. In this study, TMI observations available during the CLASIC will be used to evaluate soil moisture and potential flood information.