HR: 1340h
AN: H23D-1163    [Abstracts]
TI: Surface Water Frequency Distribution over the Continental Scale
AU: * Nghiem, S V
EM: Son.V.Nghiem@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 300-235, Pasadena, CA 91109 United States
AB: The NASA SeaWinds Scatterometer on the QuikSCAT satellite (QSCAT) is used to detect and monitor surface water changes on the continental United States (CONUS). We developed and implemented an algorithm to detect and map surface soil-moisture frequency for CONUS. QSCAT has a nearly daily coverage over the continental scale allowing an estimate of the spatial distribution of surface water (due to precipitation) frequency. Over CONUS, in-situ soil moisture and other meteorological data are available from field experiments and station networks to verify remote sensing results. Wet surface maps derived from QSCAT data compare well in timing and in spatial pattern with surface measurements of precipitation. Results for summer seasons (mid-May to mid-September) in the last half-decade over CONUS reveal a highly recurrent precipitation pattern over the Midwest with the wettest condition in year 2000 and a severe drought in 2003. In several New England states, summer 2001 experienced the most frequent precipitation-induced surface wetness. Moreover, QSCAT results for surface moisture pattern have been verified by an inter-comparison with Princeton University's LDAS (Land Data Assimilation System) precipitation maps (data courtesy of E. Wood) over the SMEX (Soil Moisture Experiment) region including Iowa and the surrounding states. Thus, QSCAT results can serve as an independent dataset for the inter-comparison of NLDAS (North American Land Data Assimilation System) and GLDAS (Global Land Data Assimilation System) results. Furthermore, with the large-scale coverage on the daily basis, QSCAT results are useful for flood and drought monitoring and water resource applications.
DE: 1812 Drought
DE: 1821 Floods
DE: 1854 Precipitation (3354)
DE: 1866 Soil moisture
DE: 1894 Instruments and techniques
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting