IGF::OT::IGF UNDER THIS CONTRACT, THE CONTRACTOR WILL USE THE PASSIVE AND ACTIVE MICROWAVE DATA FROM SMAP A…

Public award description

IGF::OT::IGF UNDER THIS CONTRACT, THE CONTRACTOR WILL USE THE PASSIVE AND ACTIVE MICROWAVE DATA FROM SMAP AS PART OF A LARGER PROCESS STUDY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE EVOLUTION AND FEATURES OF FLASH DROUGHT AND ITS COUNTERPART, FLASH RECOVERY. FLASH DROUGHT, CHARACTERIZED BY THE RAPID ONSET OF ABNORMALLY WARM AND DRY WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT LEAD TO THE RAPID DEPLETION OF SOIL MOISTURE AND RAPID DETERIORATIONS IN VEGETATION HEALTH, CAN BE VERY COSTLY BECAUSE ITS RAPID ONSET DOES NOT ALLOW VULNERABLE STAKEHOLDERS ENOUGH TIME TO PREPARE FOR ITS ADVERSE EFFECTS. FLASH RECOVERY IS CHARACTERIZED BY A SHORT PERIOD(S) OF INTENSE PRECIPITATION WHERE DROUGHT CONDITIONS ARE QUICKLY ERADICATED AND MAY BE REPLACED BY WATERLOGGED SOILS AND FLOODING. SMAP SOIL MOISTURE RETRIEVALS WILL BE USED IN COMBINATION WITH IN-SITU SOIL MOISTURE OBSERVATIONS AND MODELED SOIL MOISTURE AND DYNAMIC GREENNESS VEGETATION FRACTION DATA FROM THE LAND INFORMATION SYSTEM (LIS) TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT SOIL MOISTURE CONTENT AND VEGETATION HEALTH OVER LARGE REGIONS. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOIL MOISTURE AND VEGETATION CONDITIONS AND THE RESPONSE OF THE VEGETATION TO THE RAPIDLY CHANGING CONDITIONS WILL BE ASSESSED USING THE SATELLITE THERMAL INFRARED BASED EVAPORATIVE STRESS INDEX THAT DEPICTS ANOMALIES IN EVAPOTRANSPIRATION, ALONG WITH OTHER VEGETATION DATASETS DERIVED USING MODIS OBSERVATIONS. TOGETHER, THE OBSERVED AND MODELED DATASETS WILL PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF THE SOIL MOISTURE AND VEGETATION CHANGES DURING THESE EVENTS AND ALSO PERMIT AN EVALUATION OF THE LIS LAND SURFACE MODELS. THE CONTRACTOR WILL ATTEMPT TO ACCOMPLISH THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC TASKS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE NASA SMAP SCIENCE TEAM FUNDING OPPORTUNITY, WITH THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF EVALUATING THE LAND SURFACE PROCESSES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO RAPID CHANGES IN SOIL MOISTURE CONTENT AND ASSESSING THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SOIL MOISTURE ANOMALIES AND VEGETATION HEALTH: EXAMINE THE EVOLUTION OF TOPSOIL MOISTURE CONTENT USING SMAP SOIL MOISTURE RETRIEVAL TO ASSESS ITS ABILITY TO ACCURATELY CAPTURE SOIL MOISTURE CHANGES DURING FLASH DROUGHT AND FLASH RECOVERY EVENTS; CONDUCT PROCESS STUDIES WITH LIS SIMULATIONS THAT ASSIMILATE SMAP DATA: TO ASSESS THE ROLE OF SOIL MOISTURE MEMORY ON LAND SURFACE PROCESSES DURING TRANSITIONAL HYDROLOGIC PERIODS; USE THE NOAH-MP LAND SURFACE MODEL IN THE LIS FRAMEWORK: TO DETERMINE THE IMPORTANCE OF SOIL MOISTURE AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE WATER, CARBON, AND ENERGY CYCLES, WITH SMAP OBSERVATIONS SERVING AS AN IMPORTANT OBSERVATION DATASET; ASSESS THE ABILITY OF DIFFERENT LAND SURFACE MODELS IN LIS TO ACCURATELY REPRODUCE OBSERVED CHANGES: IN SOIL MOISTURE AND VEGETATION CONDITIONS DURING FLASH DROUGHT AND FLASH RECOVERY EVENTS USING SMAP SOIL MOISTURE RETRIEVALS AND OTHER DATASET; ASSESS THE IMPACT OF RAPID DRYING OR WETTING PERIODS ON EVAPOTRANSPIRATION: OVER DIFFERENT VEGETATION AND SOIL TYPES USING THE ENERGY-BASED EVAPORATIVE STRESS INDEX DATASET.