Soil Surface Roughness in Temperate Forest During SMAPVEX19-22

Data were collected across multiple forested domains during the Soil Moisture Active Passive Validation Experiment 2019–2022 to improve understanding of soil moisture retrievals under dense vegetation. Soil surface roughness was one of many soil and vegetation parameters sampled during in...

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Main Authors: Victoria A. Walker, Michael H. Cosh, William A. White, Andreas Colliander, Victoria R. Kelly, Paul Siqueira
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10843322/
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author Victoria A. Walker
Michael H. Cosh
William A. White
Andreas Colliander
Victoria R. Kelly
Paul Siqueira
author_facet Victoria A. Walker
Michael H. Cosh
William A. White
Andreas Colliander
Victoria R. Kelly
Paul Siqueira
author_sort Victoria A. Walker
collection DOAJ
description Data were collected across multiple forested domains during the Soil Moisture Active Passive Validation Experiment 2019&#x2013;2022 to improve understanding of soil moisture retrievals under dense vegetation. Soil surface roughness was one of many soil and vegetation parameters sampled during intensive operations periods during the spring and summer of 2022 because of its importance to retrieval accuracy (rougher soils have a higher emissivity and reduced sensitivity to soil moisture compared to smooth soils with otherwise identical characteristics). A total of 410 valid pinboard transects were collected across 24 sites between the two temperate forest domains located in the northeastern United States. Two experimental methods (handheld lidar and ultrasonic robot) were additionally tested at select sites. After removal of topographic slope, the forest floor was found to be relatively smooth with average rms heights of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$9+-1 \,{\mathrm{mm}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> in the central Massachusetts domain and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$6+-1 \,{\mathrm{mm}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> in the Millbrook, New York domain. These correspond to estimates of the model roughness parameter, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$h$</tex-math></inline-formula>, of 0.31 and 0.16, respectively, which is within the range of accepted lookup table values but smoother than suggested by recent studies retrieving <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$h$</tex-math></inline-formula> over forests.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1939-1404
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publishDate 2025-01-01
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series IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
spelling doaj-art-de65b48ed5754700ae350d0b6c90176a2025-02-05T00:00:12ZengIEEEIEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing1939-14042151-15352025-01-01184640464710.1109/JSTARS.2025.353071010843322Soil Surface Roughness in Temperate Forest During SMAPVEX19-22Victoria A. Walker0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3518-0040Michael H. Cosh1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4776-1918William A. White2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9950-0499Andreas Colliander3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4093-8119Victoria R. Kelly4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3418-9211Paul Siqueira5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5781-8282Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USAHydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USAHydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USANASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USACary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USAData were collected across multiple forested domains during the Soil Moisture Active Passive Validation Experiment 2019&#x2013;2022 to improve understanding of soil moisture retrievals under dense vegetation. Soil surface roughness was one of many soil and vegetation parameters sampled during intensive operations periods during the spring and summer of 2022 because of its importance to retrieval accuracy (rougher soils have a higher emissivity and reduced sensitivity to soil moisture compared to smooth soils with otherwise identical characteristics). A total of 410 valid pinboard transects were collected across 24 sites between the two temperate forest domains located in the northeastern United States. Two experimental methods (handheld lidar and ultrasonic robot) were additionally tested at select sites. After removal of topographic slope, the forest floor was found to be relatively smooth with average rms heights of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$9+-1 \,{\mathrm{mm}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> in the central Massachusetts domain and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$6+-1 \,{\mathrm{mm}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> in the Millbrook, New York domain. These correspond to estimates of the model roughness parameter, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$h$</tex-math></inline-formula>, of 0.31 and 0.16, respectively, which is within the range of accepted lookup table values but smoother than suggested by recent studies retrieving <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$h$</tex-math></inline-formula> over forests.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10843322/Parameter estimationremote sensingrough surfacessampling methodssoil measurements
spellingShingle Victoria A. Walker
Michael H. Cosh
William A. White
Andreas Colliander
Victoria R. Kelly
Paul Siqueira
Soil Surface Roughness in Temperate Forest During SMAPVEX19-22
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
Parameter estimation
remote sensing
rough surfaces
sampling methods
soil measurements
title Soil Surface Roughness in Temperate Forest During SMAPVEX19-22
title_full Soil Surface Roughness in Temperate Forest During SMAPVEX19-22
title_fullStr Soil Surface Roughness in Temperate Forest During SMAPVEX19-22
title_full_unstemmed Soil Surface Roughness in Temperate Forest During SMAPVEX19-22
title_short Soil Surface Roughness in Temperate Forest During SMAPVEX19-22
title_sort soil surface roughness in temperate forest during smapvex19 22
topic Parameter estimation
remote sensing
rough surfaces
sampling methods
soil measurements
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10843322/
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AT michaelhcosh soilsurfaceroughnessintemperateforestduringsmapvex1922
AT williamawhite soilsurfaceroughnessintemperateforestduringsmapvex1922
AT andreascolliander soilsurfaceroughnessintemperateforestduringsmapvex1922
AT victoriarkelly soilsurfaceroughnessintemperateforestduringsmapvex1922
AT paulsiqueira soilsurfaceroughnessintemperateforestduringsmapvex1922