ASCAT Surface Soil Moisture Climate Data Record v7 12.5 km sampling - Metop

The soil moisture product is derived from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) backscatter observations and provided on a fixed Earth grid (12.5 km sampling) in time series format. The soil moisture product contains an estimate of the water content of the 0-5 cm topsoil layer, expressed in degree of saturation (0 to 100%). The algorithm used to derive saturation is based on a linear relationship of soil moisture and backscatter applying a change detection technique eliminating the contributions of vegetation, land cover and surface topography, considered invariant from year to year. Seasonal vegetation effects are modelled by exploiting the multi-angle viewing capabilities of ASCAT. The soil moisture algorithm has been developed by Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien), part of the EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on Support to Operational Hydrology and Water Management (H SAF) consortium. The soil moisture product represents a Climate Data Record (CDR) which is continuously extended every 2-4 months in a separate offline product called ASCAT Surface Soil Moisture Climate Data Record v7 Extension 12.5 km sampling - Metop (H120).