Application of Next-Generation Satellite Data to a High-Resolution, Real-Time Land Surface Model

Zavodsky1Applied Sciences Theme, Articles, Earth Observation, Original, Technology

Table showing the schematic of a single SPoRT-LIS cycle. Each cycle is run every six hours from five days (d) before the current time (t) to nine hours (h) past the current time to provide the most up-to-date soil moisture information for situational awareness and model initialization.

Figure showing Difference plots (LIS minus control) of a 13-hour forecast valid at 1600 UTC, June 9, 2008, for the following fields: a) sensible heat flux (W m-2), b), 2-m dew point temperature (in degree Celsius), c) PBL height (m), and d) CAPE (J kg-1). Adapted from [5].A suite of real-time soil characteristic products for the contiguous United States will be enhanced by data from the upcoming Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite missions. These products are used by operational weather forecasters to aid in analyzing and forecasting drought, extreme heat, and convective initiation.