2 ficheros .pdf, copias de la Presentación original (41 Pags.) y del Resumen ampliado (1 Pag.) en Libro de Actas del Congreso.This communication will present the main results of a series of airborne campaigns
conducted at the Valencia Anchor Station (VAS) and Los Monegros site using the CAROLS
(Combined Airborne Radio-instruments for Ocean and Land Studies) radiometer on board the
ATR 42 aircraft from M¶et¶eo-France. The main objective was to contribute to the implementation
of the SMOS emission model L-MEB (L-band Microwave Emission model of the Biosphere) in
the framework of the validation of SMOS land data and products. Speci¯cally, the objectives of
the CAROLS campaigns were the following:Soil Moisture Validation Studies: Previous °ights at the VAS area took place in 2008 in the
context of the ESA SMOS Validation Rehearsal Campaign 2008 (EMIRAD radiometer, L-band)
over a control area of 10km£10km where intensive soil moisture data was acquired concurrently
to airborne L-band measurements. One of the objectives of that campaign was to establish
homogeneous units to characterize the average soil moisture of that area, and to investigate the
possibility of extending the methodology to the whole SMOS validation pixel at the VAS site.
The `homogeneous units' characterisation was studied and extended further in the context of
CAROLS 2009, and validated during the CAROLS 2010 campaign.Radiometric Characterisation & SMOS Data Validation: The 10km £ 10km mentioned
above is part of a larger area of » 50km £ 50km within the VAS SMOS validation pixel. For
CAROLS 2009, °ights were performed over a 30km £ 50km area in order to examine the ra-
diometric signature of other surfaces that are present in the VAS SMOS pixel but not in the
10km £ 10km control area examined in 2008 (mostly dense forests, matorral, and non-°at sur-
faces). Main results of CAROLS 2009 will be presented in this communication, and the emphasis
will be on comparing local to regional scale results given that CAROLS °ights were performed
at 4000m above the surface. For 2010, lower altitude °ights (» 2200m a.s.l.) over an area of
20km£20km containing a large number of homogeneous units (`environmental units'), were used
for validation of SMOS microwave model L-MEB. The preliminary results of this campaign will
be presented in this communication, and the emphasis will be on the validation of the L-MEB
model.In addition to the activities at the VAS site, °ights over Los Monegros' salt pans near Zaragoza
were performed in the 2010 CAROLS Campaign to study their emissivity at L-band. Three
playa-lakes (Guallar, La Playa, and Salineta) were sampled to measure gravimetric soil moisture
and electrical conductivity.Peer reviewe