Development of a high resolution soil moisture data portal for Greater Mekong region

Abstract:

Abstract: Soil moisture plays an important role in the evolution of weather pattern and water and heat energy exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere and thus is imperative for effective water management and agriculture development. However, in situ observation of soil moisture is highly limited, both temporally and spatially, especially in trans-boundary basins. With aims to support water users, practitioners, and researchers in the Greater Mekong region- one of the biggest rice bowl of the world, in having high resolution satellite-based soil moisture for their uses, this study first developed a downscaling algorithm for soil moisture based on the relationship between daily temperature change and average soil moisture under varying vegetation conditions which help downscaling NASA’s soil moisture active passive (SMAP) soil moisture data from 9 km gridded resolution to 1km. These downscaled high resolution data are then integrated into an user-inspired interactive water portal (waterportal.vaci.org.vn) for sharing. With this user co-design data service, local users in Vietnam and other countries in Mekong region can easily download and use the data for various applications without need for high-technical expertise and computing resources. Our approach answers critical needs of improved soil moisture monitoring and adaptive water management throughout the Mekong region and other locations for global practitioners who are engaged in real-world water management, understanding character and natural variability of water resources and operational short-term/long-term forecasting for sector-specific water planning of their river basins.