Developing National Soil Moisture Products Using In Situ, Satellite and Model-derived Data

There is a critical need to enhance the accuracy and precision of national drought monitoring products by integrating multiple sources of soil moisture data. Accurate monitoring and prediction of drought events, particularly on sub-seasonal to seasonal timescales, is vital for reducing societal vulnerability through improving drought early warning and drought response. Soil moisture is a key source of information that helps to identify the onset and characterize the severity of agricultural, hydrological, and socioeconomic drought. Given the demand and importance of near-real-time, national soil moisture data the goal of this project is to develop a national-scale drought monitoring product integrating multiple, diverse sources of soil moisture information to improve drought monitoring activities (e.g., U.S. Drought Monitor) and drought early warning. This goal will be achieved by addressing three main objectives: 1) Assess the fidelity of various satellite remote sensing- and model-based soil moisture products using in situ measurements as a benchmark. 2) Integrate remote sensing and modeled soil moisture information with in situ measurements to develop a national-scale, near-real time soil moisture product for drought monitoring. 3) Design and develop cyber infrastructure for delivery of the gridded soil moisture product.

This paper summarizes our the progress on these three objectives and discusses how this project contributes to the goals of the National Soil Moisture Network. This project will provide more effective drought monitoring tools and improve drought early warning.