Publications

This research discusses the retrieval and validation of soil moisture data from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT), focusing on its applications and challenges. ASCAT data, crucial for various uses like weather prediction and drought monitoring, are compared with similar data from other satellite missions. Validations using multiple datasets highlight dependencies on land cover and vegetation, revealing unexpected quality variations across different environments. A notable issue identified is subsurface scattering, often misattributed to other factors, impacting ASCAT data quality significantly. The study recommends masking affected data using developed indicators and masks to enhance accuracy in practical applications.

This study evaluates the performance of two L-band passive microwave satellite sensors, the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), in monitoring surface soil moisture (SM). The newly developed fused SM product (Fused-IB) derived from SMOS and SMAP observations is compared with the enhanced SMAP-L3 (SMAP-E) SM product against in situ SM data from the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) over the period 2016-2020. The comparison considers overall and seasonal performance, focusing on different land use and land cover (LULC) types. Results show that Fused-IB generally outperforms SMAP-E, especially in forested areas, due to the robust SMAP-IB algorithm and higher data coverage. Both products demonstrate higher accuracy in summer and autumn, but face increased uncertainties in forests, grasslands, and croplands during spring and winter due to vegetation growth and rainfall. This study highlights the importance of accounting for seasonal and eco-hydrological factors to improve the accuracy of SM retrieval algorithms.

• The study evaluated the Combined Drought Indicator (CDI) in the Argentine Humid Pampas, focusing on its ability to track and characterize drought severity using precipitation deficits, soil moisture, and vegetation health anomalies.
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• Strong spatial and temporal correlations were found among these variables, with the highest correlations observed for time lags of 0, 10, and 20 days, effectively capturing major drought events.
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• The CDI aligned well with soybean and corn yield estimations and simulations, as well as official agricultural emergency declarations, demonstrating its effectiveness in representing drought impacts on agriculture.
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• The study analyzed two significant drought events: the gradual and long-lasting 2008-2009 drought and the rapid-onset 2017-2018 flash drought, both of which severely affected crop yields and were well-represented by the CDI.
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• Suggestions for improving the CDI include enhancing the temporal resolution of precipitation data and refining spatial resolution to better detect and monitor drought-affected regions, emphasizing the importance of collaborative efforts for advancing drought early warning systems.

•This study tackles the challenge of unbalanced stream gauge distributions by leveraging publicly available datasets and deep learning to enhance hydrological modeling in under-gauged regions.

•This study introduces a novel framework combining LSTM-based deep learning with GLDAS and GSIM data for effective runoff prediction across continents.

•This study assesses the sensitivity of LSTM models using data from diverse regions, emphasizing the importance of hydrological similarities for accurate runoff predictions in ungauged basins.

•LSTM models demonstrate superior runoff prediction skills over traditional GLDAS datasets, influenced by the hydrological similarities between training and test regions.

Accurate and timely information about the extent and location of inland water bodies is crucial for various tasks related to managing water resources. A promising tool for identifying these water bodies is the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS). CYGNSS uses eight microsatellites with special radar technology to observe surface reflectivity characteristics over both dry and wet land. This study compares data from CYGNSS with data from two other Earth observation systems—Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat Global Surface Water product—for the contiguous United States.

We conducted a 1-kilometer comparison of water masks (representations of where water is located) for the year 2019, focusing on the area between latitudes 24°N and 37°N. To assess how well these water masks performed, we used statistical measurements called confusion matrices and high-resolution satellite images.

By using specific thresholds for different sub-regions observed by CYGNSS, we improved the performance of our water mask data, with up to a 34% increase in a measurement called the F1-score. We also calculated a metric that compares the amount of inland water to the size of the surrounding area, and found that CYGNSS, MODIS, and Landsat provided very similar estimates, differing by less than 2.3% for each sub-region.

In summary, this study sheds light on how well water masks derived from optical (visible light) and radar-based satellite observations compare in terms of their accuracy and spatial representation of inland water bodies.

Recent advancements in land data systems and satellite soil moisture data show that using this data can help improve surface condition estimates in land models. However, this improvement in estimating soil moisture doesn't necessarily translate to better predictions of water movements like evaporation and runoff. This issue might be due to inaccuracies in how these models link soil moisture with water movements. Experiments suggest that even with better soil moisture data, these inaccuracies can lead to poor water movement predictions. Adjusting satellite data to fit these models isn't always effective and could sometimes worsen predictions. This highlights the need for more accurate models that can better link soil moisture with water movements.