Multiyear in-situ L-band microwave radiometry of land surface processes on the Tibetan Plateau

We report a unique multiyear L-band microwave
radiometry dataset collected at the Maqu site on the eastern Tibetan Plateau and
demonstrate its utilities in advancing our understandings of microwave
observations of land surface processes. The presented dataset contains
measurements of L-band brightness temperature by an ELBARA-III microwave
radiometer in horizontal and vertical polarization, profile soil moisture and
soil temperature, turbulent heat fluxes, and meteorological data from the
beginning of 2016 till August 2019, while the experiment is still continuing. Auxiliary
vegetation and soil texture information collected in dedicated campaigns are
also reported. This dataset can be used to validate the Soil Moisture and Ocean
Salinity (SMOS) and Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite based observations
and retrievals, verify radiative transfer model assumptions and land surface
model and reanalysis outputs, retrieve soil properties, as well as to quantify
land-atmosphere exchanges of energy, water and carbon and help to reduce
discrepancies and uncertainties in current Earth System Models (ESM)
parameterizations. Measurement cases in winter, pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon
periods are presented.