Passive/active microwave soil moisture disaggregation using SMAP data

Soil moisture at high spatial resolution is required for various land processes related studies. However, currently the resolution of passive microwave retrieved soil moisture is low. To solve this problem, a soil moisture disaggregation algorithm based on thermal inertia relationship between daily temperature change and average soil moisture modulated by vegetation conditions has been formulated. This algorithm was applied to the SMAP (Soil Moisture Active/Passive) to produce the 1 km downscaled soil moisture over the SMAPVEX15 (SMAP Validation Experiment 2015). The disaggregated soil moisture has been compared to in situ observations and the results of this approach are very encouraging.