Food Security
A global near-real-time soil moisture index monitor for food security using integrated SMOS and SMAP
Soil moisture is a direct measure of agricultural drought, yet operational global indices rely on rainfall or model estimates rather than observed soil water in near-real time. We developed the first operational global soil moisture index from merged near-real-time satellite data, mapping daily percentiles at a 7-8 day lag. Over the Canadian Prairies it tracked the dry 2012-2013, wet 2016 and severe 2017 drought.
