ASCAT Soil Moisture at 12.5 km Swath Grid - Metop

The Surface Soil Moisture L2 product is derived from the Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT) data and given in swath geometry. This product provides an estimate of the water saturation of the 5 cm topsoil layer, in relative units between 0 and 100 [%]. The algorithm used to derive this parameter is based on a linear relationship of soil moisture and scatterometer backscatter and uses change detection techniques to eliminate the contributions of vegetation, land cover and surface topography, considered invariant from year to year. Seasonal vegetation effects are modelled by exploiting the multiple viewing capabilities of ASCAT. The processor has been developed by the Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing of the Vienna University of Technology. Note that some of the data are reprocessed. Please refer to the associated product validation reports or product release notes for further information.