Description:

Soil moisture is an essential climate that is increasing being incorporated into in-situ networks and satellite platforms due to its value in hydrological (i.e., droughts and floods) and vegetation health (i.e., agricultural production, wildfire risk) monitoring. As soil moisture data becomes more widely available, the challenges associated with monitoring and combining soil moisture datasets will become more apparent. These include disparities in observation depth among in-situ networks and remotely sensed data (surface conditions only), heterogeneity of the soil, and differences in the sensing technology, quality control, and period of record among others.  This session is interested in presentations that focus on resolving such challenges as well as useful applications that promote the wider spread adoption and use of soil moisture information.