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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #297045
Title: The south fork experimental watershed: Soil moisture and precipitation network for satellite validation

Author
item Cosh, Michael
item Prueger, John
item McKee, Lynn
item BINDLISH, R - Science Systems, Inc

Submitted to: American Geophysical Union
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2013
Publication Date: 12/9/2013
Citation: Cosh, M.H., Prueger, J.H., Mckee, L.G., Bindlish, R. 2013. The south fork experimental watershed: Soil moisture and precipitation network for satellite validation [abstract]. American Geophysical Union. Abstract H51K-1344.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: A recently deployed long term network for the study of soil moisture and precipitation was deployed in north central iowa, in cooperation between USDA and NASA. This site will be a joint calibration/validation network for the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) missions. A total of 20 dual gauge precipitation gages were established across a watershed landscape with an area of approximately 600 km2. In addition, four soil moisture probes were installed in profile at 5, 10, 20, and 50 cm. The network was installed in April 2013, at the initiation of the Iowa Flood Study (IFloodS), which was a 6 week intensive ground based radar observation period, conducted in coordination with NASA and the University of Iowa. This site is a member watershed of the Group on Earth Observations Joint Experiments on Crop Assessment and Monitoring (GEO-JECAM) program. A variety of quality control procedures are examined and spatial and temporal stability aspects of the network are examined. Initial comparisons of the watershed to soil moisture estimates from satellites are also conducted.