Scientific objectives

The general objective of the SMAPVEX12 campaign is essentially to contribute to SMAP pre-launch calibration and validation efforts over an area composed of crops, grassland, wetlands and mixed forest cover. The idea is to make full use of SMAP data and data products, once available.

Specific objectives:

Based on extended time series of both ground data and L-band passive and active aircraft measurements and on existing satellite data:

• Support the development and validation of the SMAP active and passive soil moisture retrieval algorithms,
• Support the modeling and assimilation of SMAP data sets,
• Better mitigate low-level RFI effects observed in North America,
• Collect relatively long time series for the radar-based algorithms and improve transient water body detection, and
• Contribute to the main objectives of the Canadian scientific participation in SMAP described in the "Canadian Science and Applications Plan for the Soil Moisture Active and Passive Mission".