Project Funding: 2010 - 2013

NRA: 2009 NASA: Terrestrial Ecology   

Funded by NASA

Abstract:
This investigation will use a combination of state-of-the-art sensor scene simulation, biogenic gas emission, and atmospheric modeling tools to study the use of SMAP-derived inundation maps and soil moisture in models quantifying fluxes of methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), and nitrous oxide (N2O) globally. Methane is the third most important greenhouse gas (GHG), contributing more than half the radiative forcing of CO2. Wetlands and water bodies are the primary source of terrestrial CH4 emissions, but current remote sensing methods are incapable of making the frequent, high-resolution maps of wetlands and inundation needed to adequately model their role in GHG production. NASA's Soil Moisture Active-Passive (SMAP) mission will combine 1- to 3-km resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR), 40-km-resolution L-band radiometry, and 3-day revisit period to make a novel dataset that can provide frequent inundation maps superior to alternative methods. The project will use a proven sensor scene simulation and performance prediction approach to build an SMAP inundation retrieval algorithm and error model covering various ecosystem types, inundation scenarios, and sensor specifications. The Dynamic Land Surface Ecosystem Model (DLEM) will be used to simulate the sensitivity of regional ecosystem-atmosphere gas exchanges to inundation and as the basis for a combined SMAP-DLEM model to improve global GHG flux predictions. Validation of SMAP-DLEM will be conducted using atmospheric CH4 concentration measurements and the Weather Research and Forecasting/Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport (WRF/STILT) Lagrangian particle dispersion model. The objectives of the investigation are (a) characterize the sensitivity of land ecosystem model GHG fluxes to seasonal inundation, (b) characterize the ability of SMAP to measure seasonal inundation extent and duration, (c) assess the impact that SMAP mission inundation and soil moisture data can have in daily terrestrial GHG emission modeling, and (d) prepare to utilize the SMAP dataset in the SMAP-DLEM GHG emission model.

2013 NASA Terrestrial Ecology Science Team Meeting Poster(s)

• Integration of Daily Inundation Extent Estimates into an Ecosystem-Atmosphere Gas Exchange Model   --   (John Galantowicz, Lisa Wei, Arindam Samanta, Jeff Picton, Bowen Zhang, Chaoqun Lu, Jia Yang, Hanqin Tian)   [abstract]   [poster]

2011 NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Joint Science Workshop Poster(s)

• Integration of inundation and soil moisture estimates in an ecosystem-atmosphere gas exchange model: Sensitivity and error analyses   --   (John Galantowicz, Arindam Samanta, Hanqin Tian)   [abstract]   [poster]

2010 NASA Terrestrial Ecology Science Team Meeting Poster(s)

• Use of SMAP Seasonal Inundation and Soil Moisture Estimates in the Quantification of Biogenic Gas Fluxes   --   (John Galantowicz, Janusz Eluszkiewicz, Hanqin Tian)   [abstract]   [poster]

More details may be found in the following project profile(s):

• NASA Terrestrial Ecology (TE) Project Profile