Validation of data from the SAC-D / AQUARIUS mission: Application to the knowledge of vegetation water stress

CARMONA, F.; GIROLIMETTO, D.; OCAMPO, D.; HOLZMAN, M. E.; VENTURINI, V.; RIVAS, R

Simposio; 3rd International Symposium on the Recent Advances in Quantitative Remote Sensing; 2010

The energy balance (EB) regulates most of the environmental variables, such as the soil moisture (SM), latent heat, soil temperature, among others. Regional analysis of these variables is possible from remotely sensed data with a temporal and spatial coverage that is not possible with ground observations. Thus, the data sensed by the different sensors on board of Aquarious/SAC-D satellite would provide spectral information over a broad range of electromagnetic wavelength, which is essential to study the surface properties. However, the spectral information need post-processing and validation before it is distributed to the end-users as products. Thus, studying the EB with remotely sensed data renders in better water and agriculture management and planning. In this project, the validation of the SAC-D /Aquarius Land Surface Temperature (LST) product, as well as the SM product, with portable IRT and soil moisture sensors are proposed. The validated variables, i.e. LST (NIRST sensor) and SM, will be used to derive the EB and water stress (WS) maps, which would be also validated with ground observations (EB local ground station). In order to accomplish these goals, an split windows equations must be obtained for the SAC-D sensor and contrast with similar products derived from other sensors.The expected results are: (1) to contribute to the knowledge of the soil and vegetation moisture, (2) to provide a simple operative method to estimate the latent heat flux at regional scales, (3) to integrate the ground data, observed from meteorological stations, to regional hydrological models. The results of the proposed project would be applicable to assess and manage floods and drought period in the Humid Pampa – Argentina, among other regions of the country. In addition, it is expected to integrate the EB ground stations located in the region of the DCS (Data Collection System), so that the data can be distributed to others users and system operators, who need the real time information.