Soil Moisture Experiments in 2002

Field experiments have been very successful at addressing a broad range of science questions in terrestrial hydrology. The data have been used in studies that went well beyond the algorithm research.

For 2002, soil moisture and water cycle field experiments will be conducted that support the Aqua Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR), NASA’s Global Water and Energy Cycle Program, and future satellite missions for Terrestrial Hydrology. Main elements of the experiment are validation of AMSR brightness temperature and soil moisture retrievals, extension of instrument observations and algorithms to more challenging vegetation conditions, integration of land surface and boundary layer measurements, and the evaluation of new instrument technologies for soil moisture remote sensing.

The Soil Moisture Experiments in 2002 (SMEX02) will be conducted in Iowa over a one month period between mid-June and mid-July.

SMEX02 Experiment Plan (7.5MB Pdf)
SMEX02 Experiment Plan Summary (2.0MB Pdf)

Iowa Farmer Today
- Corn Cam
- Soybean Cam (discontinued)

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Other Links
National Soil Tilth Laboratory
AQUA - a NASA Earth Science satellite misstion
AMSR-E Science
Aqua Validation
Iowa State University Maps
SGP/SMEX Project Supporting Data Archive (coordinated by JOSS/UCAR)

The SMEX02 Data Set can be found at NSIDC.