Satellite surface soil moisture from SMAP, SMOS, AMSR2 and ESA CCI: A comprehensive assessment using global ground-based observations

Abstract Comprehensive assessments on the reliability of remotely sensed soil moisture products are undeniably essential for their advancement and application. With the establishment of extensive dense networks across the globe, mismatches between satellite footprints and ground single-point observations can be feasibly relieved. In this study, five remotely sensed soil moisture products, namely, the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), two Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) products, the Land Parameter Retrieval Model (LPRM) Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) and the European Space Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI), were systematically investigated by utilizing in-situ soil moisture observations from global dense and sparse networks. Distinguished from previous studies, several perturbing factors comprising the surface temperature, vegetation optical depth (VOD), surface roughness and spatial heterogeneity were taken into account in this investigation. Furthermore, products' skills under various climate regions were also evaluated. Through the results, the SMAP product captures temporal trends of ground soil moisture, exhibiting an averaged R of 0.729, whereas for overall accuracy, ESA CCI outperformed other products with a slightly smaller ubRMSE of 0.041 m3 m−3 and a bias of −0.005 m3 m−3. This complementarity between SMAP and ESA CCI was further demonstrated under different climate conditions and can afford the reference of their integration for a more reliable global soil moisture product. Though some underestimations still exist, the newly developed SMOS- INRA-CESBIO (SMOS-IC) was illustrated to gain considerable upgrades with regard to R and ubRMSE compared to SMOS-L3 product, especially in dense VOD conditions achieving the highest R compared to other products. Generally, the underestimations of the European Centre for Medium-Range-Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) surface temperature used for SMOS under moderate or high VOD, heterogeneity, and most surface roughness conditions were consistent with the underestimations of the soil moisture product and provide the directions of product promotions. As for LPRM surface temperature, the worse skills can partially explain the unsatisfactory performances for LPRM soil moisture products. In spite of relatively acceptable skills of SMAP and SMOS-IC soil moisture products concerning R under moderate or dense VOD, small surface roughness, low heterogeneity conditions and temperate and cold climate types, advances in soil moisture products under high or even slightly low VOD, high roughness or topography complexity and heterogeneity, as well as in tropical or desert regions, remain challenging. It is expected that these findings can contribute to algorithm refinements, product enhancements (e.g., fusion and disaggregation) and hydrometeorological usages.