Application of quikSCAT backscatter to SMAP validation planning: Freeze/Thaw state over ALECTRA sites in Alaska from 2000 to 2007

Andreas Colliander; Kyle McDonald; Reiner Zimmermann; Ronny Schroeder; John S. Kimball; Eni G. Njoku

doi:10.1109/TGRS.2011.2174368

Application of quikSCAT backscatter to SMAP validation planning: Freeze/Thaw state over ALECTRA sites in Alaska from 2000 to 2007

Andreas Colliander
, Kyle McDonald
, Reiner Zimmermann
, Ronny Schroeder
, John S. Kimball
, Eni G. Njoku

Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
City University of New York
University of Hohenheim

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

The mapping of the predominant freeze/thaw state of the landscape is one of the main objectives of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's proposed Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. This study applies Alaska Ecological Transect (ALECTRA) biophysical network temperature measurements and satellite radar scatterometer data from the Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) to evaluate some of the validation issues regarding the planned SMAP freeze/thaw measurements. Although the QuikSCAT data are acquired at Ku-band frequency, rather than at the L-band frequency of the proposed SMAP instrument, QuikSCAT data do provide a high temporal fidelity over the ALECTRA sites, similar to SMAP. The results of this study show that multiple temperature measurements representative of individual landscape components (soil, snow cover, vegetation, and atmosphere) covering different types of terrain within the satellite field of view are important for understanding the freeze/thaw process and the aggregate radar backscatter response to that process. The backscatter temporal dynamics and relative contribution of the freeze/thaw state of these landscape elements to radar signal vary with land cover, seasonal weather, and climate conditions.

Original language	English
Article number	6112797
Pages (from-to)	461-468
Number of pages	8
Journal	IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing
Volume	50
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2011.2174368
State	Published - Feb 2012

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 13 Climate Action

Keywords

Alaska Ecological Transect (ALECTRA)
Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT)
Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP)
freeze/thaw state

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10.1109/TGRS.2011.2174368

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title = "Application of quikSCAT backscatter to SMAP validation planning: Freeze/Thaw state over ALECTRA sites in Alaska from 2000 to 2007",

abstract = "The mapping of the predominant freeze/thaw state of the landscape is one of the main objectives of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's proposed Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. This study applies Alaska Ecological Transect (ALECTRA) biophysical network temperature measurements and satellite radar scatterometer data from the Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) to evaluate some of the validation issues regarding the planned SMAP freeze/thaw measurements. Although the QuikSCAT data are acquired at Ku-band frequency, rather than at the L-band frequency of the proposed SMAP instrument, QuikSCAT data do provide a high temporal fidelity over the ALECTRA sites, similar to SMAP. The results of this study show that multiple temperature measurements representative of individual landscape components (soil, snow cover, vegetation, and atmosphere) covering different types of terrain within the satellite field of view are important for understanding the freeze/thaw process and the aggregate radar backscatter response to that process. The backscatter temporal dynamics and relative contribution of the freeze/thaw state of these landscape elements to radar signal vary with land cover, seasonal weather, and climate conditions.",

keywords = "Alaska Ecological Transect (ALECTRA), Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT), Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), freeze/thaw state",

author = "Andreas Colliander and Kyle McDonald and Reiner Zimmermann and Ronny Schroeder and Kimball, \{John S.\} and Njoku, \{Eni G.\}",

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AU - Colliander, Andreas

AU - McDonald, Kyle

AU - Zimmermann, Reiner

AU - Schroeder, Ronny

AU - Kimball, John S.

AU - Njoku, Eni G.

PY - 2012/2

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AB - The mapping of the predominant freeze/thaw state of the landscape is one of the main objectives of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's proposed Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. This study applies Alaska Ecological Transect (ALECTRA) biophysical network temperature measurements and satellite radar scatterometer data from the Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) to evaluate some of the validation issues regarding the planned SMAP freeze/thaw measurements. Although the QuikSCAT data are acquired at Ku-band frequency, rather than at the L-band frequency of the proposed SMAP instrument, QuikSCAT data do provide a high temporal fidelity over the ALECTRA sites, similar to SMAP. The results of this study show that multiple temperature measurements representative of individual landscape components (soil, snow cover, vegetation, and atmosphere) covering different types of terrain within the satellite field of view are important for understanding the freeze/thaw process and the aggregate radar backscatter response to that process. The backscatter temporal dynamics and relative contribution of the freeze/thaw state of these landscape elements to radar signal vary with land cover, seasonal weather, and climate conditions.

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Application of quikSCAT backscatter to SMAP validation planning: Freeze/Thaw state over ALECTRA sites in Alaska from 2000 to 2007

Abstract

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Keywords

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