Validation of Spaceborne and Modelled Surface Soil Moisture Products with Cosmic-Ray Neutron Probes

Montzka, Carsten; Bogena, Heye; Zréda, Marek; Monerris, A.; Morrison, Ross; Sekhar, M.; Vereecken, Harry

doi:10.3390/rs9020103

Cited by 111 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 140 publications

(134 reference statements)

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“…Additionally, many key hydrologic processes are extremely difficult to parameterize (e.g., irrigation, dam operation, snow melting, and interception), especially in challenging regions (deserts, pluvial forests, and high altitudes). Therefore, modelled soil moisture data surely represents an important dataset that, however, needs to be used with caution [70,71].…”

Section: Hydrological and Land Surface Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Moisture for Hydrological Applications: Open Questions and New Opportunities

Brocca

Ciabatta

Massari

et al. 2017

Water

259

174

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Soil moisture is widely recognized as a key parameter in the mass and energy balance between the land surface and the atmosphere and, hence, the potential societal benefits of an accurate estimation of soil moisture are immense. Recently, scientific community is making great effort for addressing the estimation of soil moisture over large areas through in situ sensors, remote sensing and modelling approaches. The different techniques used for addressing the monitoring of soil moisture for hydrological applications are briefly reviewed here. Moreover, some examples in which in situ and satellite soil moisture data are successfully employed for improving hydrological monitoring and predictions (e.g., floods, landslides, precipitation and irrigation) are presented. Finally, the emerging applications, the open issues and the future opportunities given by the increased availability of soil moisture measurements are outlined.

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Section: Hydrological and Land Surface Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Moisture for Hydrological Applications: Open Questions and New Opportunities

Brocca

Ciabatta

Massari

et al. 2017

Water

259

174

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“…The performance of satellite and modeling products was assessed using CRN soil moisture data sets (Kim et al, 2015; Evans et al, 2016; Kędzior and Zawadzki, 2016; Vinodkumar et al, 2017; Montzka et al, 2017). Overall, CRN soil moisture was found to be appropriate for validation and for identifying areas of improvement in the parameterizations and the model for the retrieval algorithms.…”

Section: Status Of the Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Montzka et al (2017) identified some challenges in validating satellite‐retrieved soil moisture using CRN detectors. Satellite‐retrieved soil moisture was lower than CRN measurements during periods with considerable amounts of biomass.…”

Section: Challenges and Potential Improvementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status and Perspectives on the Cosmic‐Ray Neutron Method for Soil Moisture Estimation and Other Environmental Science Applications

Andreasen

Jensen

Desilets³

et al. 2017

Vadose Zone Journal

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115

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Core Ideas Numerous studies have been conducted to develop and examine the accuracy of the method. Cosmic‐ray neutron soil moisture estimates compare well with independent measurements. These estimates are useful for modeling, data assimilation, and calibration of satellite products. Many studies have used the neutron detector for other applications; results have been promising. Since the introduction of the cosmic‐ray neutron method for soil moisture estimation, numerous studies have been conducted to test and advance the accuracy of the method. Almost 200 stationary neutron detector systems have been installed worldwide, and roving systems have also started to gain ground. The intensity of low‐energy neutrons produced by cosmic rays, measured above the ground surface, is sensitive to soil moisture in the upper decimeters of the ground within a radius of hectometers. The method has been proven suitable for estimating soil moisture for a wide range of land covers and soil types and has been used for hydrological modeling, data assimilation, and calibration and validation of satellite products. The method is challenged by the effect on neutron intensity of other hydrogen pools such as vegetation, canopy interception, and snow. Identifying the signal of the different pools can be used to improve the cosmic‐ray neutron soil moisture method as well as extend the application to, e.g., biomass and canopy interception surveying. More fundamental research is required for advancement of the method to include more energy ranges and consider multiple height levels.

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“…Comprising a growing network of more than 200 cosmicray neutron probes at fixed installations across six continents, these data represent a valuable source of independent infor-5 See http://www.nature.com/news/ mobile-phone-signals-bolster-street-level-rain-forecasts-1.21799. mation from which a range of hydrological responses may be inferred or assessed (Jana et al, 2016;Montzka et al, 2017).…”

Section: Signals Of Opportunitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The future of Earth observation in hydrology

McCabe

Rodell

Alsdorf

et al. 2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

371

279

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Abstract. In just the past 5 years, the field of Earth observation has progressed beyond the offerings of conventional space-agency-based platforms to include a plethora of sensing opportunities afforded by CubeSats, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and smartphone technologies that are being embraced by both for-profit companies and individual researchers. Over the previous decades, space agency efforts have brought forth well-known and immensely useful satellites such as the Landsat series and the Gravity Research and Climate Experiment (GRACE) system, with costs typically of the order of 1 billion dollars per satellite and with concept-to-launch timelines of the order of 2 decades (for new missions). More recently, the proliferation of smartphones has helped to miniaturize sensors and energy requirements, facilitating advances in the use of CubeSats that can be launched by the dozens, while providing ultra-high (3-5 m) resolution sensing of the Earth on a daily basis. Startup companies that did not exist a decade ago now operate more satellites in orbit than any space agency, and at costs that are a mere fraction of traditional satellite missions.With these advances come new space-borne measurements, such as real-time high-definition video for tracking air pollution, storm-cell development, flood propagation, precipitation monitoring, or even for constructing digital surfaces using structure-from-motion techniques. Closer to the surface, measurements from small unmanned drones and tethered balloons have mapped snow depths, floods, and estimated evaporation at sub-metre resolutions, pushing back on spatio-temporal constraints and delivering new process insights. At ground level, precipitation has been measured using signal attenuation between antennae mounted on cell phone towers, while the proliferation of mobile devices has enabled citizen scientists to catalogue photos of environmental conditions, estimate daily average temperatures from battery state, and sense other hydrologically important variables such as channel depths using commercially available wireless devices. Global internet access is being pursued via highaltitude balloons, solar planes, and hundreds of planned satellite launches, providing a means to exploit the "internet of things" as an entirely new measurement domain. Such globalPublished by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. The future of Earth observation in hydrology access will enable real-time collection of data from billions of smartphones or from remote research platforms. This future will produce petabytes of data that can only be accessed via cloud storage and will require new analytical approaches to interpret. The extent to which today's hydrologic models can usefully ingest such massive data volumes is unclear. Nor is it clear whether this deluge of data will be usefully exploited, either because the measurements are superfluous, inconsistent, not accurate enough, or simply because we lack the capacity to process and analyse them. What is apparen...

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Validation of Spaceborne and Modelled Surface Soil Moisture Products with Cosmic-Ray Neutron Probes

Abstract: Abstract:The scale difference between point in situ soil moisture measurements and low resolution satellite products limits the quality of any validation efforts in heterogeneous regions.

Cited by 111 publications

References 140 publications

Soil Moisture for Hydrological Applications: Open Questions and New Opportunities

Soil Moisture for Hydrological Applications: Open Questions and New Opportunities

Status and Perspectives on the Cosmic‐Ray Neutron Method for Soil Moisture Estimation and Other Environmental Science Applications

The future of Earth observation in hydrology

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