Quality control of satellite soil moisture measurements

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Soil Moisture

scholarly journals Automated Quality Control of In Situ Soil Moisture from the North American Soil Moisture Database Using NLDAS-2 Products

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 1267-1282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youlong Xia ◽  
Trent W. Ford ◽  
Yihua Wu ◽  
Steven M. Quiring ◽  
Michael B. Ek
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
North American ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Control Procedure ◽  
Multiple Model ◽  
Quality Control Procedure ◽  
The North ◽  
Automated Quality Control

AbstractThe North American Soil Moisture Database (NASMD) was initiated in 2011 to provide support for developing climate forecasting tools, calibrating land surface models, and validating satellite-derived soil moisture algorithms. The NASMD has collected data from over 30 soil moisture observation networks providing millions of in situ soil moisture observations in all 50 states, as well as Canada and Mexico. It is recognized that the quality of measured soil moisture in NASMD is highly variable because of the diversity of climatological conditions, land cover, soil texture, and topographies of the stations, and differences in measurement devices (e.g., sensors) and installation. It is also recognized that error, inaccuracy, and imprecision in the data can have significant impacts on practical operations and scientific studies. Therefore, developing an appropriate quality control procedure is essential to ensure that the data are of the best quality. In this study, an automated quality control approach is developed using the North American Land Data Assimilation System, phase 2 (NLDAS-2), Noah soil porosity, soil temperature, and fraction of liquid and total soil moisture to flag erroneous and/or spurious measurements. Overall results show that this approach is able to flag unreasonable values when the soil is partially frozen. A validation example using NLDAS-2 multiple model soil moisture products at the 20-cm soil layer showed that the quality control procedure had a significant positive impact in Alabama, North Carolina, and west Texas. It had a greater impact in colder regions, particularly during spring and autumn. Over 433 NASMD stations have been quality controlled using the methodology proposed in this study, and the algorithm will be implemented to control data quality from the other ~1200 NASMD stations in the near future.

The International Soil Moisture Network: an open-source data hosting facility in support of hydrological research

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Himmelbauer ◽  
Daniel Aberer ◽  
Lukas Schremmer ◽  
Ivana Petrakovic ◽  
Luca Zappa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Web Portal ◽  
Soil Moisture Data ◽  
In Situ Data ◽  
Spatial Coverage

<p><span>The International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN, </span><span></span><span>) is an international cooperation to establish and maintain an open-source global data hosting facility, providing in-situ soil moisture data as well as accompanying soil variables. This database is an essential means for validating and improving global satellite soil moisture products as well as land surface -, climate- , and hydrological models.</span></p><p><span>For hydrological validation, the quality of used in-situ data is essential. The various independent local and regional in situ networks often do not follow standardized measurement techniques or protocols, collect their data in different units, at different depths and at various sampling rates. Besides, quality control is rarely applied and accessing the data is often not easy or feasible.</span></p><p><span>The ISMN was created to address the above-mentioned issues. Within the ISMN, in situ soil moisture measurements (surface and sub-surface) are collected, harmonized in terms of units and sampling rates, advanced quality control is applied and the data is then stored in a database and made available online, where users can download it for free. </span></p><p><span>Since its establishment in 2009 and with continuous financial support through the European Space Agency (ESA), the ISMN evolved into a widely used in situ data source growing continuously (in terms of data volume and users). Historic measurements starting in 1952 up to near–real time are available through the ISMN web portal. Currently, the ISMN consists of 60 networks with more than 2500 stations spread all over the globe. With a </span><span><span>steadily growing user community more than 3200 registered users strong</span></span><span> the value of the ISMN as a well-established and rich source of in situ soil moisture observations is well recognized. In fact, the ISMN is widely used in variety of scientific fields (e.g. climate, water, agriculture, disasters, ecosystems, weather, biodiversity, etc.). </span></p><p> <span>Our partner networks range from networks with a handful of stations to networks that are composed of over 400 sites, are supported with half yearly provider reports on statistical data about their network (e.g.: data download statistic, flagging statistic, etc.). </span></p><p><span>About 10’000 datasets are available through the web portal. However, the spatial coverage of in situ observations still needs to be improved. For example, in Africa and South America only sparse data are available. Innovative ideas, such as the inclusion of soil moisture data from low cost sensors (GROW observatory ) collected by citizen scientists, holds the potential of closing this gap, thus providing new information and knowledge.</span></p><p><span>In this session , we want to give an overview of the ISMN, its unique features and its support of data provider, who are willing to openly share their data, as well as hydrological researcher in need of freely available datasets.</span></p>

scholarly journals The International Soil Moisture Network: serving Earth system science for over a decade

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wouter Dorigo ◽  
Irene Himmelbauer ◽  
Daniel Aberer ◽  
Lukas Schremmer ◽  
Ivana Petrakovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Data Repository ◽  
Reference Database ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Space Agency

Abstract. In 2009, the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) was initiated as a community effort, funded by the European Space Agency, to serve as a centralised data hosting facility for globally available in situ soil moisture measurements (Dorigo et al., 2011a, b). The ISMN brings together in situ soil moisture measurements collected and freely shared by a multitude of organisations, harmonizes them in terms of units and sampling rates, applies advanced quality control, and stores them in a database. Users can freely retrieve the data from this database through an online web portal (https://ismn.earth). Meanwhile, the ISMN has evolved into the primary in situ soil moisture reference database worldwide, as evidenced by more than 3000 active users and over 1000 scientific publications referencing the data sets provided by the network. As of December 2020, the ISMN now contains data of 65 networks and 2678 stations located all over the globe, with a time period spanning from 1952 to present.The number of networks and stations covered by the ISMN is still growing and many of the data sets contained in the database continue to be updated. The main scope of this paper is to inform readers about the evolution of the ISMN over the past decade,including a description of network and data set updates and quality control procedures. A comprehensive review of existing literature making use of ISMN data is also provided in order to identify current limitations in functionality and data usage, and to shape priorities for the next decade of operations of this unique community-based data repository.

The International Soil Moisture Network in assistance of EO soil moisture validation products, services and models

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Aberer ◽  
Irene Himmelbauer ◽  
Lukas Schremmer ◽  
Ivana Petrakovic ◽  
Wouter Dorigo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Web Portal ◽  
Soil Moisture Data ◽  
Spatial Coverage

<p>The International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN, https://ismn.geo.tuwien.ac.at/) is an international cooperation to establish and maintain a unique centralized global data hosting facility, making in situ soil moisture data easily and freely accessible. This database is an essential means for validating and improving global satellite soil moisture products, land surface -, climate- , and hydrological models. </p><p>In situ measurements are crucial to calibrate and validate satellite soil moisture products. For a meaningful comparison with remotely sensed data and reliable validation results, the quality of the reference data is essential. The various independent local and regional in situ networks often do not follow standardized measurement techniques or protocols, collecting their data in different units, at different depths and at various sampling rates. Besides, quality control is rarely applied and accessing the data is often not easy or feasible.</p><p>The ISMN has been created to address the above-mentioned issues and is building a stable base to assist EO products, services and models. Within the ISMN, in situ soil moisture measurements (surface and sub-surface) are collected, harmonized in terms of units and sampling rates, advanced quality control is applied and the data is then stored in a database and made available online, where users can download it for free.</p><p>Founded in 2009, the ISMN has grown to a widely used in situ data source including 61 networks with more than 2600 stations distributed on a global scale and a steadily growing user community > 3200 registered users strong. Time series with hourly timestamps from 1952 – up to near real time are stored in the database and are available through the ISMN web portal, including daily near-real time updates from 6 networks (> 900 stations). With continuous financial support through the European Space Agency (formerly SMOS and IDEAS+ programs, currently QA4EO program), the ISMN evolved into a platform of benchmark data for several operational services such as ESA CCI Soil Moisture, the Copernicus Climate Change (C3S), the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS) and the online validation service Quality Assurance for Soil Moisture (QA4SM). In general, ISMN data is widely used in a variety of scientific fields (e.g. climate, water, agriculture, disasters, ecosystems, weather, biodiversity, etc.).</p><p>About 10’000 datasets are available through the web portal. However, the spatial coverage of in situ observations still needs to be improved. For example, in Africa and South America only sparse data are available. Innovative ideas, such as the inclusion of soil moisture data from low cost sensors (eventually) collected by citizen scientists, holds the potential of closing this gap, thus providing new information and knowledge.</p><p>In this session, we give an overview of the ISMN, its unique features and its benefits for validating satellite soil moisture products.</p>

Global Automated Quality Control of In Situ Soil Moisture Data from the International Soil Moisture Network

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. vzj2012.0097 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.A. Dorigo ◽  
A. Xaver ◽  
M. Vreugdenhil ◽  
A. Gruber ◽  
A. Hegyiová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Moisture Data ◽  
Automated Quality Control

scholarly journals Quality Control and Evaluation of the Observed Daily Data in the North American Soil Moisture Database

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weilin Liao ◽  
Dagang Wang ◽  
Guiling Wang ◽  
Youlong Xia ◽  
Xiaoping Liu
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
North American ◽  
The North ◽  
Daily Data

scholarly journals The International Soil Moisture Network: serving Earth system science for over a decade

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 5749-5804
Author(s):  
Wouter Dorigo ◽  
Irene Himmelbauer ◽  
Daniel Aberer ◽  
Lukas Schremmer ◽  
Ivana Petrakovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Data Repository ◽  
Reference Database ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Space Agency

Abstract. In 2009, the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) was initiated as a community effort, funded by the European Space Agency, to serve as a centralised data hosting facility for globally available in situ soil moisture measurements (Dorigo et al., 2011b, a). The ISMN brings together in situ soil moisture measurements collected and freely shared by a multitude of organisations, harmonises them in terms of units and sampling rates, applies advanced quality control, and stores them in a database. Users can freely retrieve the data from this database through an online web portal (https://ismn.earth/en/, last access: 28 October 2021). Meanwhile, the ISMN has evolved into the primary in situ soil moisture reference database worldwide, as evidenced by more than 3000 active users and over 1000 scientific publications referencing the data sets provided by the network. As of July 2021, the ISMN now contains the data of 71 networks and 2842 stations located all over the globe, with a time period spanning from 1952 to the present. The number of networks and stations covered by the ISMN is still growing, and approximately 70 % of the data sets contained in the database continue to be updated on a regular or irregular basis. The main scope of this paper is to inform readers about the evolution of the ISMN over the past decade, including a description of network and data set updates and quality control procedures. A comprehensive review of the existing literature making use of ISMN data is also provided in order to identify current limitations in functionality and data usage and to shape priorities for the next decade of operations of this unique community-based data repository.

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