Surface soil moisture status over the Mackenzie River Basin using a temperature/vegetation index

This paper presents an approach to assess soil moisture status in Northern Basins using MODIS land surface temperature (Ts) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The methodology is based on the interpretation of the land surface temperature- vegetation (Ts-NDVI) space. For the study site over the Mackenzie River Basin, a positive correlation was noted between surface temperature and NDVI. The dry edge and the wet edge of the Ts-NDVI space are function of the NDVI values. A satisfactory agreement was obtained between the temperature-vegetation dryness index (TVDI) and the precipitation and elevation patterns. The TVDI index was therefore able to describe the spatiotemporal variation of the soil moisture in a cold climate and humid area.