The Soil Moisture Active/Passive Mission (SMAP)

Authors: ENTEKHABI, D - MIT; NJOKU, E - NASA JPL; O'NEILL, P - NASA; SPENCER, M - NASA JPL; Jackson, Thomas; ENTIN, J - NASA; IM, E - NASA JPL

Submitted to: International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/5/2008
Publication Date: 12/22/2008
Citation: Entekhabi, D., Njoku, E., O'Neill, P., Spencer, M., Jackson, T.J., Entin, J., Im, E. 2008. The Soil Moisture Active/Passive Mission (SMAP). In: Proceedings International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, July 7-11, 2008, Boston, Massachusetts. p. III1-III4.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Soil Moisture Active/Passive (SMAP) mission will deliver global views of soil moisture content and its freeze/thaw state that are critical terrestrial water cycle state variables. Polarized measurements obtained with a shared antenna L-band radar and radiometer system will allow accurate estimation of soil moisture at hydrometeorological scale (10 km) and hydroclimatological scale (40 km) resolutions. The sensors will share a feed and a deployable light-weight mesh reflector that will make conical scans of the Earth surface at a constant look angle. The wide-swath (1000 km) measurements will allow global mapping of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state with 2-3 days revisit. Freeze/thaw in boreal latitudes will be mapped using the radar at 3 km resolution with 1-2 days revisit. The synergy of active and passive measurements enables global soil moisture mapping with unprecedented resolution, sensitivity, area coverage, and revisit. This paper outlines the science objectives of the SMAP mission and provides an overview of the measurement approach and data products.