[1] The contrast between the point-scale nature of current ground-based soil moisture instrumentation and the ground resolution (typically >10 km) of satellites used to retrieve soil moisture poses a significant challenge for the validation of data products from current and upcoming soil moisture satellite missions. Given typical levels of observed spatial variability in soil moisture fields, t...

Precipitation and temperature are important drivers of soil respiration. The role of moisture and temperature are generally explored at seasonal or inter-annual timescales; however, significant variability also occurs on hourly to daily time-scales. We used small (1.54 m(2)), throughfall exclusion shelters to evaluate the role soil moisture and temperature as temporal controls on soil CO2 efflu...

Surface soil moisture is an important environment variable that is dominant in a variety of research and application areas. Acquiring spatiotemporal continuous soil moisture observations is therefore of great importance. Weather conditions can contaminate optical remote sensing observations on soil moisture, and the absence of remote sensors causes gaps in regional soil moisture observation tim...

Knowledge about the spatio-temporal variability of soil moisture is essential to understand and predict processes in climate science and hydrology. A significant body of literature exists on the characterization of the spatial variability and the rank stability (also called temporal stability) of absolute soil moisture. Yet previous studies were generally based on short-term measurement campaig...

A linear relationship between ERS-2 SAR backscattering coe cient (s0 ) and volumetric soil moisture was determined at both ends of a rainfall gradient in Israel. A Normalized radar Backscatter soil Moisture Index (NBMI) was derived and related strongly to soil moisture concentration. This index may allow the mapping of soil moisture conditions over large areas with C band SAR data.

of the spatial variability in soil moisture within the root zone. An instrument for making rapid measurements of the soil moisture Studies have shown that soil moisture content can content in the root zone is an essential tool for many applications, be inferred from measurements of the soil electrical including understanding of soil water dynamics, evaluation of agriculresistance (e.g., Seyfrie...

Soil moisture is an important hydrologic state variable critical to successful hydroclimatic and environmental predictions. Soil moisture varies both in space and time because of spatio-temporal variations in precipitation, soil properties, topographic features, and vegetation characteristics. In recent years, airand space-borne remote sensing campaigns have successfully demonstrated the use of...

Soil respiration (SR) is a major component of ecosystems’ carbon cycles and represents the second largest CO2 flux in the terrestrial biosphere. Soil temperature is considered to be the primary abiotic control on SR, whereas soil moisture is the secondary control factor. However, soil moisture can become the dominant control on SR in very wet or dry conditions. Determining the trigger that make...

During the 2003 and 2004 growing seasons, research was conducted on a 'Providence' creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) sand green at the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus to evaluate the use of ECH20 capacitance soil moisture sensors and FAO 56 ET (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Evapotranspiration) estimation in scheduling turfgrass irrigation by applying...

The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite makes coincident global measurements of soil moisture using an L-band radar instrument and an L-band radiometer. It is crucial to evaluate the errors in the newest L-band SMAP satellite-derived soil moisture products, before they are routinely used in scientific research and applications. This study represents the first evaluation of the SMAP ra...