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Title: In situ validation of the soil moisture active passive (SMAP) satellite mission

Author
item Jackson, Thomas
item Cosh, Michael
item COLLIANDER, ANDREAS - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
item WALKER, JEFFERY - Monash University
item Crow, Wade

Submitted to: International Symposium on Remote Sensing Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/16/2011
Publication Date: 5/1/2011
Citation: Jackson, T.J., Cosh, M.H., Colliander, A., Walker, J., Crow, W.T. 2011. In situ validation of the soil moisture active passive (SMAP) satellite mission. International Symposium on Remote Sensing Proceedings. 2011 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: SMAP is a new NASA mission proposed for 2014 that would provide a number of soil moisture and freeze/thaw products. The soil moisture products span spatial resolutions from 3 to 40 km. In situ soil moisture observations will be one of the key elements of the validation program for SMAP. Data from the currently available soil moisture observing sites are not adequate and will require improvement if they are to be useful. Problems include i) a lack of standardization of instrumentation and installation and ii) the disparity in spatial scale between the point-scale in situ data (a few centimeters) and the coarser satellite products. SMAP has initiated activities to resolve these issues for some of the existing resources. The other challenge to soil moisture validation is the need to expand the number of sites and their geographic distribution. SMAP is attempting to increase the number of sites and their value in validation through collaboration. An overview of SMAP validation and specific issues and solutions involving in situ observations will be described.