Towards improved spatio-temporal resolution soil moisture retrievals from the synergy of SMOS and MSG SEVIRI spaceborne observations

The proposed technique has been implemented to SMOS and MSG (Meteosat Second Generation) SEVIRI (Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager) observations acquired over the Iberian Peninsula and Southern France during year 2011. SSM instantaneous estimates at the time of SMOS overpass and daytime-averaged SSM estimates have been obtained and evaluated separately against collocated in-situ measurements acquired from a total of 40 stations belonging to the REMEDHUS, VAS and SMOSMANIA permanent soil moisture measurement networks. Statistical agreement between compared datasets has been evaluated both at individual stations and considering the network average on the basis of several statistical terms computed including correlation, bias, root-mean-squared errors, slope and intercept of linear regression. Results showed that the proposed method not only preserves the quality of SMOS SSM at finer spatial scales, but also allows achieving higher temporal coverage and representativeness in daytime averages. The synergy of SMOS and SEVIRI provides a pathway to enhance water cycle EO capabilities taking full advantage of the new observational records of SSM and operational geostationary information.