Use of coupled SVAT and microwave emission models for soil moisture estimation in SGP97

An EOS interdisciplinary science hydrology experiment called Southern Great Plains ´97 (SGP97) was conducted by NASA and USDA in Oklahoma during June-July, 1997 in order to acquire data at spatial and temporal scales more typical of possible future satellite systems. A core activity of SGP97 involved mapping surface soil moisture with the ESTAR (Electronically Scanned Thinned Array Radiometer) airborne L-band microwave radiometer on a daily basis for a month over an 11,000 km² area at 800 m resolution. To provide continuous 24-hour microwave brightness temperature measurements over two representative surface covers (winter wheat and grazed pasture) to complement the once-a-day ESTAR data, the two-frequency truck-mounted passive microwave SLMR (S and L Microwave Radiometer) system was deployed to the Department of Energy´s ARM/CART Central Facility site near Lament, Oklahoma in the northern part of the SGP97 test region for the month-long experiment. The detailed diurnal time series data available from the SLMR system permits validation and refinement of coupled energy/water balance models at the point scale before these models are extrapolated to the entire SGP97 test area