SMAP Cal/Val Workshop #9, Fairfax, VA

This workshop was focused on the calibration and validation (Cal/Val) of SMAP science data products. The workshop provided a forum for scientists from around the world to participate in implementing the SMAP Cal/Val plan, assessing performance to date, exchanging expert information and resolving key issues.

The SMAP Cal/Val Plan addresses Cal/Val activities undertaken to ensure the generation of high quality products and definitive validation of the products after launch. These activities include instrument calibration and a suite of validation methodologies that include core validations sites, sparse observing networks, inter-comparisons with other satellite missions providing similar products, model-based inter-comparisons, and field campaigns.

The mission data products were assessed and plans for further evaluation and improvement were discussed. Results of recent field campaigns were reviewed. A specific focus of the workshop was to finalize the planning for the 2019 field experiment to support algorithm enhancements for forest biomes. The SMAP mission regards highly the continued participation of the broad science community in the SMAP Cal/Val activities.

The workshop was held at the George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, hosted by Dr. John Qu. The workshop was followed by the 5th Satellite Soil Moisture Validation and Applications Workshop held on the same campus. More information is provided here.

Presentations (Original Agenda)

DAY 1

Meeting Objectives & SMAP Status

1. Workshop Objectives (A. Colliander)
2. Mission Status (S. Yueh)
3. Science and Applications Update (D. Entekhabi, S. Yueh)

Data Product Validation Status

4. Status of SMAP Radiometer Calibration (J. Peng)
5. Soil Moisture Passive Products (S. Chan)
6. SMAP-Sentinel High-Resolution SM Product (N. Das)
7. L4 Soil Moisture Product (R. Reichle)
8. Freeze/Thaw Products Update (X. Xu)

SMAPVEX19

9. SMAPVEX19 Motivation, Objectives, Overview (A. Colliander)
10. PALS Airborne Instrument (S. Misra)
11. Sites and Soil Moisture Measurements (M. Cosh)
12. Vegetation Characterization Plans (L. Bourgeau-Chavez)
13. Sherbrooke Tower Radiometer (A. Roy)
14. NISAR and UAVSAR 2019 (B. Chapman)

New Directions in Soil Moisture Validation and Observation (posters with short presentations)

15. Multi-scale L-band freeze/thaw retrieval in boreal forest (A. Roy)
16. Dielectric characterization of vegetation (A. Mavrovic)
17. BERMS soil moisture network (A. Berg)
18. NMM3D forest modeling (H. Huang)
19. Temporal and spatial mismatch effect between SMAP and SMOS soil moisture (N. Yang)
20. Validation strategy for high resolution soil moisture product [poster] (A. Balenzano)
21. A non-stationary geostatistical framework for soil moisture prediction in the presence of surface heterogeneity (B. Mohanty)
22. Evaluating the sensitivity of surface soil moisture dynamics to soil profile layering schemes [poster] (P. Shellito)
23. An in-situ data based model to downscale radiometric satellite soil moisture products [poster] (I.-Y. Yeo)
24. Standardizing short-term satellite soil moisture datasets (R. Leeper)

DAY 2

Cal/Val Synergies with Other Missions

1. SMOS Long-Term Validation and Forest Retrieval Development (Y. Kerr)
2. Validation of Merged SMAP-SMOS Soil Moisture Product (R. Bindlish)
3. CYGNSS and Soil Moisture Products Prospects (C. Ruf)

Validation Methodology

4. SMAP Soil Moisture Product Bias Analysis (A. Colliander)
5. Core Site Uncertainty Analysis (F. Chen)
6. Sensor Calibration at TxSON (T. Caldwell)
7. Core Site Bias Analysis using Random Forest (M. Moghaddam)
8. Upscaling of Little River (M. Cosh)
9. SMAPVEX16-MB: Upscaling of Carman (M. Friesen)
10. SMAPVEX16-SF Tower Measurements (J. Judge)
11. Evaluation of Multi-frequency TB over Kuwait Validation Site (H. Al Jassar)
12. International Soil Moisture Network (T. Scanlon)
13. Time-variable Vegetation Biases (S. Zwieback)
14. Status of Triple Collocation (W. Crow)
15. Validation Practices for Satellite Soil Moisture Products - What Are (the) Errors? (A. Gruber)

High-Resolution Soil Moisture Validation

16. Sentinel-1 High-resolution SM Product and Validation (F. Mattia, A. Balenzano)
17. Julich High Density Network (C. Montzka)
18. SoilSCAPE Network (M. Moghaddam)

Contacts

Dr. Andreas Colliander
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
andreas.colliander@jpl.nasa.gov

Dr. Michael Cosh
USDA Agricultural Research Service, Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory
michael.cosh@ars.usda.gov