Use of the scanning multichannel microwave radiometer (SMMR) to retrieve soil moisture and surface temperature over the central United States

The 6.6-, 10.7-, and 18-GHz data from the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) for 1979, 1980, and 1982 have been used to derive soil moisture and surface temperature for the south central United States. The 1979 data have been used to calibrate the radiative transfer model parameters, and the 1980 and 1982 data were used to derive soil moisture and surface temperature that have been compared with the corresponding values from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalyses model outputs. These comparisons have shown that SMMR is able to qualitatively predict the seasonal cycle of land surface hydrological variability, and this information can be used for studies involving land-atmosphere interaction and hydrology. This study is of particular importance with the presence of both the Aqua satellite and the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite II that carry onboard the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR), which has channels similar to the SMMR, but with better spatial resolution. The results of this study will help us to plan for AMSR retrievals of soil moisture and surface temperature.