Evaluation of soil and vegetation response to drought using SMOS soil moisture satellite observations

European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2014 (EGU2014), 27 april - 2 may 2014, Vienna, Austria.-- 1 pageSoil moisture plays an important role in determining the likelihood of droughts and floods that may affect an area. Knowledge of soil moisture distribution as a function of time and space is highly relevant for hydrological, ecological and agricultural applications, especially in water-limited or drought-prone regions. However, measuring soil moisture is challenging because of its high variability; point-scale in-situ measurements are scarce being remote sensing the only practical means to obtain regional- and global-scale soil moisture estimates. The ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) is the first satellite mission ever designed to measuring the Earth’s surface soil moisture at near daily time scales with levels of accuracy previously not attained. Since its launch in November 2009, significant efforts have been dedicated to validate and fine-tune the retrieval algorithms so that SMOS-derived soil moisture estimates meet the standards required for a wide variety of applications. In this line, the SMOS Barcelona Expert Center (BEC) is distributing daily, monthly, and annual temporal averages of 0.25-deg global soil moisture maps, which have proved useful for assessing drought and water-stress conditions. In addition, a downscaling algorithm has been developed to combine SMOS and NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data into fine-scale (< 1km) soil moisture estimates, which permits extending the applicability of the data to regional and local studies. Fine-scale soil moisture maps are currently limited to the Iberian Peninsula but the algorithm is dynamic and can be transported to any region. Soil moisture maps are generated in a near real-time fashion at BEC facilities and are used by Barcelona’s fire prevention services to detect extremely dry soil and vegetation conditions posing a risk of fire. Recently, they have been used to explain drought-induced tree mortality episodes and forest decline in the Catalonia region. These soil moisture products can also be a useful tool to monitor the effectiveness of land restoration management practices. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of using SMOS soil moisture maps for monitoring drought and water-stress conditions. In previous research, SMOS-derived Soil Moisture Anomalies (SSMA), calculated in a ten-day basis, were shown to be in close relationship with well-known drought indices (the Standardized Precipitation Index and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index). In this work, SSMA have been calculated for the period 2010-2013 in representative arid, semi-arid, sub-humid and humid areas across global land biomes. The SSMA reflect the cumulative precipitation anomalies and is known to provide ’memory’ in the climate and hydrological system; the water retained in the soil after a rainfall event is temporally more persistent than the rainfall event itself, and has a greater persistence during periods of low precipitation. Besides, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from MODIS is used as an indicator of vegetation activity and growth. The NDVI time series are expected to reflect the changes in surface vegetation density and status induced by water-deficit conditions. Understanding the relationships between SSMA and NDVI concurrent time series should provide new insight about the sensitivity of land biomes to droughtPeer Reviewe

The contribution of the Barcelona World Race to improved ocean surface information. A validation of the SMOS remotely sensed salinity

12 pages, 14 figures[EN] The oceans not only cover about three quarters of the Earth’s surface but they also constitute the most relevant climate driver. However, our present knowledge about the oceans is by no means comparable to that of terrestrial or atmospheric systems. Salinity and temperature are key parameters to understand the dynamics of the oceans; but a global network of observations is lacking in spite of valuable data on the oceans that are being accumulated through oceanographic campaigns and by using automated devices, fixed moorings, drifting instrumented buoys, and ships of opportunity. In addition, during the last 40 years, remotely sensed data from satellites have offered almost synoptic information describing the Earth’s surface. This information includes sea surface temperature, which has been routinely monitored; by contrast, ocean surface salinity was not remotely measured until very recently. The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite, launched in November 2009, has been the first attempt to obtain remotely sensed surface salinity data. In this context, the Barcelona World Race has provided new opportunities not only to obtain a worldwide sequence of sea surface temperature and salinity data, through one of the participating ships, but also to validate the first salinity data obtained by the SMOS[CAT] Els oceans no solament cobreixen aproximadament tres quartes parts de la superfície de la Terra, sinó que constitueixen el controlador més rellevant del clima. Així i tot, el coneixement que es té actualment dels oceans no es pot comparar amb el que es té dels sistemes terrestres o atmosfèrics. La salinitat i la temperatura són factors clau per entendre la dinàmica dels oceans, però encara no existeix una xarxa global d’observacions. Així i tot, s’estan obtenint dades molt valuoses dels oceans mitjançant campanyes oceanogràfiques i l’ús de dispositius automatitzats, ancoratges o boies a la deriva instrumentades i vaixells d’oportunitat. A més, durant els darrers quaranta anys, les dades obtingudes per teledetecció per satèl·lits han ofert informació gairebé sinòptica sobre la superfície de la Terra, que inclou la temperatura de la superfície del mar, monitoritzada de manera rutinària. En canvi, la salinitat superficial de l’oceà no s'ha pogut obtenir remotament fins fa molt poc. El satèl·lit SMOS (per les sigles en anglès de «humitat del sòl i salinitat oceànica»), llançat el novembre del 2009, n’ha estat el primer intent satisfactori. En aquest context, la Barcelona World Race ha ofert noves oportunitats per obtenir una seqüència de temperatura i salinitat superficials a escala global, a través d’un dels vaixells participants, així com per validar les primeres dades sobre salinitat obtingudes amb l’SMOSThis work was performed with the support of the MIDAS-6 project of the Spanish R+D+I National Plan (AYA2010-22062-C05) and is a contribution of the SMOS Barcelona Expert Centre (SMOS-BEC, CSIC/UPC)Peer reviewe

Marine heat waves detection in climate warming seas: their evolution in the NW Mediterranean sea

Ponencia presentada en: XII Congreso de la Asociación Española de Climatología celebrado en Santiago de Compostela entre el 19 y el 21 de octubre de 2022.[ES]El aumento extremo y prolongado de la temperatura del mar, una ola de calor marina (MHW), se detecta por comparación con los valores históricos en cada localización y época del año. Así, el correcto establecimiento de los valores de referencia es una tarea clave en la detección de MHW. Al comparar diferentes épocas es necesario considerar dos contribuciones a la evolución de los episodios extremos: la tendencia subyacente de la temperatura y los cambios súbitos de la misma. Siguiendo la definición de Hobday (2016), comparamos las MHW detectadas en caso de corregir o no la tendencia climatológica en la definición de los valores de referencia. Para ello empleamos 38 años de temperatura superficial del mar Mediterráneo proporcionados por el servicio Copernicus. El trabajo se centra alrededor de la reserva marina de las islas Columbretes, donde existe una estación costera de medición de la temperatura del mar integrada en la red T-MedNet. Esto permite vislumbrar el efecto a diferentes profundidades aunque con series temporales más cortas. El resultado es que no corregir la tendencia al definir la referencia subestima el número de eventos detectados en los primeros años de la serie y los sobreestima en los últimos, independientemente de la longitud de la serie. La influencia del cambio climático en la alteración de los ecosistemas marinos debido a las MHW no parece deberse al incremento en la frecuencia de las mismas, sino a que éstas tienen lugar en un mar cada vez más caliente, actuando sobre sistema biológicos con mayor estrés térmico.[EN]Extreme and prolonged increases in the sea temperature, a marine heatwave (MHW), are detected by comparison with historical values at each location and time of year. Thus, the correct estimation of reference values is key in detecting marine heatwaves. In temporally separated epochs comparison, it is necessary to consider two contributions to the evolution of extreme events: the underlying trend in temperature and its sudden changes. Following the definition of Hobday (2016), we compare the detected MHW in case of correcting or not the climatological trend in the definition of the reference values. We use 38 years of the surface temperature of the Mediterranean Sea provided by the Copernicus service. This work is centered around the Columbretes Islands marine reserve, where there is a coastal sea temperature measurement station integrated into the T-MedNet network. This allows us to have a glimpse of the effect at different depths but with shorter time series. The results show that if the long-term trend is not removed from the reference, then the number of events is underestimated in the first years of the series and overestimated in the last ones regardless of the length of the series. The influence of climate change on the alteration of marine ecosystems caused by the MHWs does not seem to be caused by the increased frequency of MHWs, but rather by the fact that the MHWs take place in an increasingly hot sea, acting on biological systems having greater thermal stress.This is a contribution made with the support of the MPA-Engage project (Grant:5216 | 5MED18_3.2_M23_007) and MINKE project (Grant: 101008724). The authors would like to thank the institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S)

Nueva ruralidad y dinámicas de proximidad en el desarrollo territorial de los sistemas agroalimentarios localizados

La nueva ruralidad como enfoque permite interpretar los procesos de desarrollo territorial de los Sistemas agroalimentarios localizados (SIAL), bajo las condicionantes de entorno y contexto actual. Las dinámicas de proximidad explican los procesos de interacción, cooperación y coordinación, subyacentes al desarrollo territorial. En este sentido, los objetivos del trabajo consistieron en construir un modelo de interpretación del desarrollo territorial como proceso societal, con ello analizar las dimensiones de complementariedad entre nueva ruralidad y dinámicas de proximidad, para el desarrollo territorial en los SIAL. La metodología fue un modelo construido de complementariedad conceptual entre nueva ruralidad y dinámicas de proximidad. Se analizaron seis casos SIAL documentados y se postularon seis dimensiones de sincretismo conceptual: capital humano, capital social, competitividad, institucional, gobernanza y dimensión territorial.The new rurality as an approach allows the interpretation of the processes of territorial development of localized agri-food systems (SIAL), under the conditions of environment and current context. Proximity dynamics explain the processes of interaction, cooperation and coordination, underlying the territorial development. In this sense, the objectives of the research were to build a model of interpretation of territorial development as a societal process, along with analyzing the dimensions of complementarity between new rurality and proximity dynamics related to the territorial development in the SIAL. The methodology was a built conceptual model of complementarity between new rurality and proximity. Six cases of documented SIAL were analyzed and six dimensions of conceptual syncretism were postulated: human capital, social capital, competitiveness, institutional, governance and territorial.A nova ruralidade como uma abordagem para interpretar os processos de desenvolvimento territorial de sistemas agroalimentares (SIAL), sob as condições do meio ambiente e contexto atual. dinâmica de proximidade explicar os processos de interação, cooperação e coordenação, desenvolvimento territorial subjacente. Neste sentido, os objetivos do trabalho consistiu na construção de um modelo de interpretação do ordenamento do território e do processo social, assim, analisar as dimensões da complementaridade entre as novas dinâmicas rurais e de proximidade, para o desenvolvimento territorial no SIAL. A metodologia utilizada foi um modelo conceitual construído a complementaridade entre novas dinâmicas rurais e de proximidade. SIAL documentado seis casos foram analisados e seis dimensões do sincretismo conceitual postulado: capital humano, capital social, competitividade, institucional, governança e dimensão territorial

Nueva ruralidad y dinámicas de proximidad en el desarrollo territorial de los sistemas agroalimentarios localizados

La nueva ruralidad como enfoque permite interpretar los procesos de desarrollo territorial de los Sistemas agroalimentarios localizados (SIAL), bajo las condicionantes de entorno y contexto actual. Las dinámicas de proximidad explican los procesos de interacción, cooperación y coordinación, subyacentes al desarrollo territorial. En este sentido, los objetivos del trabajo consistieron en construir un modelo de interpretación del desarrollo territorial como proceso societal, con ello analizar las dimensiones de complementariedad entre nueva ruralidad y dinámicas de proximidad, para el desarrollo territorial en los SIAL. La metodología fue un modelo construido de complementariedad conceptual entre nueva ruralidad y dinámicas de proximidad. Se analizaron seis casos SIAL documentados y se postularon seis dimensiones de sincretismo conceptual: capital humano, capital social, competitividad, institucional, gobernanza y dimensión territorial.The new rurality as an approach allows the interpretation of the processes of territorial development of localized agri-food systems (SIAL), under the conditions of environment and current context. Proximity dynamics explain the processes of interaction, cooperation and coordination, underlying the territorial development. In this sense, the objectives of the research were to build a model of interpretation of territorial development as a societal process, along with analyzing the dimensions of complementarity between new rurality and proximity dynamics related to the territorial development in the SIAL. The methodology was a built conceptual model of complementarity between new rurality and proximity. Six cases of documented SIAL were analyzed and six dimensions of conceptual syncretism were postulated: human capital, social capital, competitiveness, institutional, governance and territorial.A nova ruralidade como uma abordagem para interpretar os processos de desenvolvimento territorial de sistemas agroalimentares (SIAL), sob as condições do meio ambiente e contexto atual. dinâmica de proximidade explicar os processos de interação, cooperação e coordenação, desenvolvimento territorial subjacente. Neste sentido, os objetivos do trabalho consistiu na construção de um modelo de interpretação do ordenamento do território e do processo social, assim, analisar as dimensões da complementaridade entre as novas dinâmicas rurais e de proximidade, para o desenvolvimento territorial no SIAL. A metodologia utilizada foi um modelo conceitual construído a complementaridade entre novas dinâmicas rurais e de proximidade. SIAL documentado seis casos foram analisados e seis dimensões do sincretismo conceitual postulado: capital humano, capital social, competitividade, institucional, governança e dimensão territorial

De campañas de medidas a productos de salinidad: un tributo a las contribuciones de Jordi Font a la mision SMOS

Camps, Adriano ... et al.-- Special volume: Planet Ocean. Scientia Marina 80(Suppl.1) 2016.-- 14 pages, 20 figures[EN] This article summarizes some of the activities in which Jordi Font, research professor and head of the Department of Physical and Technological Oceanography, Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC, Spanish National Research Council) in Barcelona, has been involved as co-Principal Investigator for Ocean Salinity of the European Space Agency Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) Earth Explorer Mission from the perspective of the Remote Sensing Lab at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. We have probably left out some of his many contributions to salinity remote sensing, but we hope that this review will give an idea of the importance of his work. We focus on the following issues: 1) the new accurate measurements of the sea water dielectric constant, 2) the WISE and EuroSTARRS field experiments that helped to define the geophysical model function relating brightness temperature to sea state, 3) the FROG 2003 field experiment that helped to understand the emission of sea foam, 4) GNSS-R techniques for improving sea surface salinity retrieval, 5) instrument characterization campaigns, and 6) the operational implementation of the Processing Centre of Levels 3 and 4 at the SMOS Barcelona Expert Centre[ES] Este artículo resume algunas de las actividades en las que Jordi Font, profesor de investigación y jefe del Departamento de Física y Tecnología Oceanográfica, del Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC) en Barcelona, ha estado desarrollando como co-Investigador Principal de la parte de la misión SMOS de la ESA, una misión Earth Explorer, desde la perspectiva del Remote Sensing Lab, de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Seguramente, estamos olvidando algunas de sus muchas contribuciones a la teledetección de la salinidad, pero esperamos que esta revisión dé una idea de la importancia de su trabajo. Este artículo se focaliza en los siguientes puntos: 1) las medidas de alta calidad de la constante dieléctrica del agua marina, 2) las campañas de medidas WISE y EuroSTARRS que ayudaron a la definición del modelo geofísico relacionando la temperatura de brillo con el estado del mar, 3) la campaña de medidas FROG 2003 que ayudó a entender la emisión de la espuma marina 4) presentación de las técnicas de GNSS-R para la mejora de la recuperación de la salinidad superficial 5) campañas para la caracterización del instrumento y 6) la implantación del centro de procesado operacional de niveles 3 y 4 en el SMOS Barcelona Expert CentreThis work has been performed under research grants TEC2005-06863-C02-01/TCM, ESP2005-06823-C05 and ESP2007-65667-C04, AYA2008-05906-C02-01/ESP, AYA2010-22062-C05 and ESP2015-70014-C2-1-R, and EURYI 2004 awardPeer Reviewe

2000 days of SMOS at the Barcelona Expert Centre: a tribute to the work of Jordi Font

Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) is the first satellite mission capable of measuring sea surface salinity and soil moisture from space. Its novel instrument (the L-band radiometer MIRAS) has required the development of new algorithms to process SMOS data, a challenging task due to many processing issues and the difficulties inherent in a new technology. In the wake of SMOS, a new community of users has grown, requesting new products and applications, and extending the interest in this novel brand of satellite services. This paper reviews the role played by the Barcelona Expert Centre under the direction of Jordi Font, SMOS co-principal investigator. The main scientific activities and achievements and the future directions are discussed, highlighting the importance of the oceanographic applications of the mission.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Correlation between Arctic river discharge and sea ice formation in Laptev Sea using sea surface salinity from SMOS satellite

European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2020, 4-8 May 2020During the last 3 decades, the Arctic rivers have increased their discharge around 10%, mainly due to the increase of the global atmospheric temperature. The increase of the river discharge carries higher loads of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and suspended matter (SM) entering to the Arctic Ocean. This results in increased absorption of solar energy in the mixed layer, which can potentially contribute to the general sea ice retreat. Observation based studies (e.g. Bauch et al., 2013) showed correlation between river water discharge and local sea ice melting on the Laptev sea shelf due to the change on the ocean heat. Previous studies are based with a limited number of observations, both in space and in time. Thanks to the ESA SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) and NASA SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) missions we have daily the sea surface salinity (SSS) maps from the Arctic, which permit to observe the salinity variations due to the river discharges. The Arctic sea surface salinity products obtained from SMOS measurements have been improved considerable by the Barcelona Expert Center (BEC) team thanks to the project Arctic+Salinity, funded by ESA. The new version of the product (v3) covers the years from 2011 up to 2018, have a spatial resolution of 25km and are daily maps with 9 day averages. The Arctic+ SSS maps provide a better description of the salinity gradients and a better effective spatial resolution than the previous versions of the Arctic product, so the salinity fronts are better resolved. The quality assessment of the Arctic+SSS product is challenging because, in this region, there are scarce number of in-situ measurements. The high effective spatial resolution of the Arctic+ SSS maps will permit to study for the first time scientific physical processes that occurs in the Arctic. We will explore if a correlation between the Lena and Ob rivers discharge with the sea ice melting and freeze up is observed with satellite data, as already stated with in-situ measurements by Bauch et al. 2013. Salinity and sea ice thickness maps from SMOS and sea ice concentration from OSISAF will be used in this study. Bauch, D.,Hölemann, J. , Nikulina, A. , Wegner, C., Janout, M., Timokhov, L. and Kassens, H. (2013): Correlation of river water and local sea-ice melting on the Laptev Sea shelf (Siberian Arctic) , Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans, 118 (1), pp. 550-561 . doi: 10.1002/jgrc.2007