Cordilleran Section - 116th Annual Meeting - 2020

Paper No. 13-17
Presentation Time: 9:00 AM-6:00 PM

EVALUATION OF NASA SOIL MOISTURE MEASUREMENTS WITH IN SITU DATA IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES


DIEGO Jr., Jose Manuel, Department of Geosciences and Environment, California State University, Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032; NASA Data Intensive Research and Education Center for STEM, California State University, Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032 and LI, Jingjing, Department of Geosciences and Environment, California State University Los Angeles, 5151 State University Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90032; NASA Data Intensive Research and Education Center for STEM, California State University, Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032

Soil moisture plays an important role in the hydrological system, affecting precipitation and weather patterns due to the exchange of energy, as evaporation or transpiration, between the land surface and the atmosphere. Soil moisture also has significant effects on the climate system. Observations of different climate regions would provide information in the interactions occurring in the soil surface and root zone. In situ soil moisture data is spatially and temporally limited globally, requiring alternative sources with the capability to capture a larger scope with precision. The objective of this study is to evaluate satellite-based soil moisture measurements with in situ data in the Western United States for different climate regime. Satellite-based soil moisture datasets were obtained from Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) enhanced level 3 based on radiometer data on a 36 km grid. Ground-based information was obtained from the SNOTEL database for 364 stations. Five statistical indicators, including correlation coefficient, systematic error (BIAS), root mean square error (RMSE), unbiased root mean square error (ubRMSE), and standard deviation (SD), were used to examine the performance of SMAP soil moisture measurements, for different Köppen climate classifications, over a five-year period.