Surface Soil Moisture (SSM) products and algorithm description
Sebastian Hahn discusses the algorithmic background of the ASCAT SSM retrieval and describes the properties and characteristics of currently available ASCAT SSM products.
Length: 32 minutes.
H-SAF Surface Soil Moisture (SSM) products are derived from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) on-board the series of Metop satellites operating in space since more than 14 years. The SSM retrieval is based on a semi-empirical change detection method developed by TU Wien, which exploits the multi-incidence angle measurement capability of the fan-beam scatterometer ASCAT. While ASCAT Near Real-Time SSM products are most current and well suited for Near Weather Prediction (NWP), ASCAT Climate Data Record (CDR) products ensure long-term consistency and stability. This presentation will discuss the algorithmic background of the ASCAT SSM retrieval and describe the properties and characteristics of currently available ASCAT SSM products.