ARS | Publication request: The Iowa Validation Site

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 3, 2008
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Remote sensing can be used to observe the land surface hydrologic cycle, but the quantitative aspects of these observations are not well known. We present a small (1 km^2) experimental validation site, the Iowa Validation Site. Initially we have focused on validating remotely-sensed observations of soil moisture. The site is an agricultural field (corn and soybean grown in alternate years) located near the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, IA, USA. The site is administered by a team of scientists and engineers from Iowa State, the University of Iowa, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. We have NASA funding through 2010, but our intent is to continue to maintain the site indefinitely. We supply the data generated at the site instantly to the scientific community through wireless technologies and the world wide web. Our immediate plans include the support of the SMOS and SMAP missions.