SMOS detects freezing soil as winter takes grip

ESA's SMOS satellite is designed to observe soil moisture and ocean salinity, but this innovative mission is showing that it can also offer new insight into Earth's carbon and methane cycles by mapping soil as it freezes and thaws.

While SMOS provides essential information for understanding the water cycle, weather and climate system, scientists from the Finnish Meteorological Institute have recently developed a method of using the data to detect and map frozen soils. Not only can the extent be mapped, but also the depth of the frozen layer can be inferred.

From the animation, which shows northern Finland, the difference between 26 November 2010 and 26 November 2011 can be seen clearly. This year’s late frost is associated with Europe’s mild weather this autumn. Credits: Finnish Meteorological Institute

Read the complete news on ESA's website

SMOS maps Europe's dry autumn soils

Dry soil resulting from Europe's exceptionally warm and dry autumn is being monitored by ESA's SMOS water mission. The images here show the stark comparison between soil moisture in November 2010 and November 2011.

Much drier soils can be seen across Europe this November compared to the same time last year. These images were created using data from ESA's SMOS mission. The yellow colours indicate drier and the blue show wetter soils. Credits: CESBIO/F. Cabot/Y. Kerr

Read the complete news on ESA's website

The presentations of SMOS Science Workshop held in Arles 27-29 September 2011 are now available at ESA's website

SMOS Science workshop CNES/ESA in Arles, France

The French Space Agency (CNES) and the European Space Agency are jointly organising a first workshop on 27-29 September in Arles, France, to provide scientists and data users with the opportunity to present results from their research activities exploiting data from the SMOS mission. The workshop will address both SMOS calibration and validation activities as well as research activities.

Further details can be found on www.smos2011.org

Drought shaping up

Southern UK and France appear to be sharing the same concern regarding water. Soil moisture maps from SMOS clearly shows very dry conditions in most part of England and Wales.
Because of lower than normal precipitation last winter and early spring, soil water in France is actually going low. This is fully documented by Meteo France and is also witnessed by SMOS.
A simple comparison of soil moisture monthly averages for March and April is shown on the following figures. Obviously soil moistures for both months is lower in 2011 than what it was in 2010. This situation is even more visible in april, in most regions except Normandy and central Britany.

Drought observed by SMOS between 2010 and 2011. Source: CESBIO

Further details on CESBIO blog

Australia and Yasi... New floods? ... what is SMOS seeing to help forecasts?

Andrew Moy drew our attention last Sunday on a hurricane getting ready to hit Queensland: YASI.
So we rushed onto the SMOS data to see what are the surface conditions. Actually the soil had dried down fairly well during the last 15 days or so, but as from yesterday we see a moistening around MacKay.

SMOS Data for January 29 to 31 2011

There are some pretty wet soils and it is nowhere really dry...
According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorolgy forecast, Yasi should strike a bit further to the north, almost where the soils are the dryest...

Bureau of Meteorolgy forecasts

Depending on the rainfall amount (we are no specialists of this) and considering the surface is somewhat humid to rather wet, some floodings may re occur.
We do hope the Bureau of Meteorolgy and other organisations in Queensland and Australia will be able to make sense and good use of this information to help people down under.

One year ago, SMOS was switched on and delivered its first "image"

After celebrating its first year in orbit, SMOS spacecraft launched on 2/11/2009 from Plesetzk, continues to observe with more and more precision some componants of our planet's water cycle. The instrument operates beyond all expectations and this quality has achieved for the first time a global map of sea surface salinity and soil moisture in August 2010. Thus that are three major "firsts" that we celebrate today, an interferometer in orbit, global fields of superficial soil moisture and sea surface salinity!

First ever global map of sea surface salinity and Soil moisture all produced with the same instrument: SMOS.

Sure, there still are progress to realise with the increase of our understanding of these new data. It is the reason why CNES set up a post-production center, the CADTS, to process SMOS data with an operational componant which has just been inaugurated in Brest on 15/10/2010 and two research centers (LOS in Brest and CESBIO in Toulouse), focal points where the French community will be able to work on the improvement of level 3 and 4 products, and to develop new applications based on SMOS data.

SMOS water mission winning battle with interference in Spain

The results from ESA's SMOS satellite have been impressive, but the mission has been bugged by patches of interference from radar, TV and radio transmissions in what should be a protected band. Painstaking efforts to reduce these unwanted signals are now paying off.

On the left, contaminated SMOS data.
On the Right, data almost free of radio interference.

Read the complete news on ESA website.

Inauguration of SMOS satellite CATDS in Brest

The CATDS (Centre Aval de Traitement des Données SMOS), located at IFREMER Center in Brest, analyses two key parameters to monitor the climate: the soil moisture and the ocean surface salinity. The scientists then prepare these data that they distribute to scientist all over the world, that enable to study the water cycle to improve our understanding of the climate change and to improve the meteorological forecasts.

Read the complete press release on CNES website (in French).

SMOS detects and monitors the Amazon and Orinoco freshwater plumes

On an annual basis, the Amazon river discharges ~15% of the total freshwater input to the ocean. Between July and October, more than half the Amazon plume water is carried eastward by the North Brazil current. Large warm and fresh core rings that can exceed 400 km in diameter can then detach from the retroflection and move northwestward toward the Caribbean. Anticipated strong gradient of salinity in this region are therefore expected and have been unambiguously detected in the measured SMOS brightness temperatures.

Left panels: 7-day averaged SMOS salinity maps. Right: 7-day averaged merged GSM Meris/Modis CDOM optical measurements. Top mid-July. Bottom: mid-August 2010. As detected, both Amazon and Orinoco Plume evolution are well captured for these two weeks.

Read the complete news on CESBIO website.

Floods in Pakistan as detected by SMOS

Since the end of July Northern Pakistan has been affected by the worst floods in living memory. The magnitude of the disaster is so important that flooding can be followed by SMOS. The following pictures show Pakistan soil moisture map at previous and post disaster.

Read the complete news on CESBIO website.

SMOS satellite bothered by human radio emissions

This electromagnetic pollution map was realised thanks to SMOS observations. The areas where the interference emission is high and permanent are shown in red, those where the pollution is intermittent are in yellow and green. Image credit: CESBIO

Launched in November 2009, SMOS satellite transmit his first data on ocean salinity and soils moisture of our planet. But under the scrutiny of its main instrument, the MIRAS radiometer, an intense electromagnetic pollution of human origine appeared...Read the complete article (in french).

Successful end of in-flight commissioning review for SMOS system

This joint ESA/CNES review confirmed the excellent behaviour of the Satellite and the operation Ground System during the LEOP phase (Launch and Early Operation Phase) and this in-flight commissioning. All the operations have been realised as expected with in particular few ergol used during the final orbit acquisition thanks to an accurate orbit injection by the launcher (+600m). The review authorized the passage in operational phase for SMOS System/Satellite. The mission's cal/val activities under ESA responsibility will continue until May 2010.

The PIs also presented the first results of the mission's calibration and validation activities during the review which shown very promising performances even with a few CU anomalies (latch up) which disturbed the nominal progression of the activities. The main identified problem for the mission is the presence of numerous electromagnetic disturbance sources on the ground which emit in SMOS protected band. Data are under consolidation to be submitted through the ESA and the CNES frequency bureau to the authorities in charge of the frequencies regulation.