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Title: Surface soil moisture distributions at the field scale in the Southern Great Plains

Author
item Cosh, Michael
item McKee, Lynn
item Jackson, Thomas

Submitted to: American Geophysical Union
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/15/2009
Publication Date: 5/24/2009
Citation: Cosh, M.H., McKee, L.G., Jackson, T.J. 2009. Surface soil moisture distributions at the field scale in the Southern Great Plains [abstract]. American Geophysical Union. 90(22):H245A-03.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Surface soil moisture variability plays a leading role in land surface-atmosphere interactions. Its variability and distribution across a variety of scales has a significant impact on how those interactions are observed and modeled. Combining data from several field experiments in Oklahoma and Texas, fine scale to field scale variability is characterized and evaluated as power law distributions. The Cloud Land Surface Interaction Campaign (CLASIC) in Oklahoma 2007, and the Bushland Evapotranspiration and Agricultural Remote Sensing Experiment (BEAREX) in Texas in 2008 addressed a large number of science questions pertaining to land surface atmosphere interactions. Individualized experimentation on small scale variability at the 5 cm to 200 m scale were conducted using calibrated dielectric soil probes, confirming results from previous experimentation in this region (Washita '92 in Oklahoma) that soil moisture has a power law distribution across a wide range of scales. There were four primary land cover types investigated: dryland cotton, irrigated cotton, pasture, and harvested winter wheat. Multiple methods of analysis were used to confirm these findings including semivariogram analysis, wavelet analysis, and aggregation analysis.