SMAPpers,
The GLOBE/SMAP Soil Moisture Measurement Campaign is almost here! Beginning October 1, 2015 and ending April 30, 2016, we are hoping to get a wide array of GLOBE schools participating.
NASA launched an Earth observing satellite called Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) on January 31, 2015 and its purpose is to measure soil moisture globally with a high level of accuracy. Ground measurements are needed however, in order to validate the satellite measurements. To do this, the SMAP team will compare GLOBE in situ soil moisture with satellite measurements to determine how close or far apart they are to each other and if they closely agree then the SMAP team can have confidence that the satellite measurements are correct.
To support this effort, the SMAP satellite mission invites GLOBE schools to participate in the 7-month-long soil moisture measurement campaign. Students will take soil moisture measurements following the GLOBE SMAP Block Pattern Soil Moisture (Volumetric) Protocol and input this data into GLOBE (http://www.globe.gov/web/smap/overview/how-to-participate). Once the data is input, other GLOBE schools and SMAP scientists can view the student-collected data, through the GLOBE visualization tool, and compare it to the SMAP satellite data.
The SMAP team will provide feedback to schools that submit 15 or more measurements and will have monthly webinars with the top three leading countries collecting soil moisture data following the SMAP protocol.
Wouldn’t it be fun to know that the soil moisture data you are inputting into the GLOBE web site is actually being used by NASA SMAP scientists to build a better understanding of our planet’s soil moisture?
For more information, visit http://www.globe.gov/web/smap/overview or contact the GLOBE-SMAP Campaign lead, Brian Campbell Brian.A.Campbel@nasa.gov for more information and to register your school in the campaign.
We will be having two global webinars on Thursday, September 7, 2015 at 12:00pmET and 7:00pmET. Please stay tuned for this information.
Regards and Happy Collecting,
Brian A. Campbell
NASA SMAP Mission
GLOBE Trainer
