HYDROS: The
Hydrosphere State Mission
HYDROS
is a proposed NASA ESSP-3 Pathfinder mission that will provide the first global
observations for monitoring daily surface freeze/thaw state and soil moisture
conditions, enabling new hydrological applications and new scientific
investigations of global change and atmospheric predictability. Soil moisture
and freeze/thaw define the land hydrosphere state that regulates
land-atmosphere exchanges of water, energy and trace gases. These factors, in
turn, regulate regional precipitation, water availability, and land ecosystem
function. HYDROS will inaugurate a new generation of satellite active and
passive microwave remote sensing measurements of the land surface to enable
investigations of water and carbon cycle interactions and associated impacts to
regional and global ecosystems. HYDROS builds on a heritage of ground, airborne
and satellite measurements that have validated the utility of microwave remote
sensing monitoring of the landscape in nearly all weather conditions regardless
of solar illumination and cloud cover. HYDROS measurements will be merged with
data from in situ measurement networks and other satellites in a land data
assimilation system, delivering the most comprehensive view ever of the land
hydrosphere. The HYDROS mission is a multi-institutional and international
effort that includes NASA, MIT, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Department
of Defense, Canadian Space Agency, and The University of Montana. The
University of Montana / NTSG is playing a leading role in: 1) developing the
science justification and applications for HYDROS freeze-thaw and surface soil
moisture products; 2) developing and implementing a plan for validating daily
HYDROS products using global daily surface weather station networks. The
University of Montana NASA ESIP is also
the primary global freeze/thaw processing facility for HYDROS.
Visit the following web sites for more information
about HYDROS and related NTSG science activities: