QuikSCAT Backscatter Data for Soil Moisture Experiment 2003

SeaWinds scatterometer data was collected over the Soil Moisture Experiment 2003 (SMEX03) regions in Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Brazil. This dataset provides microwave backscatter measurements from NASA's QuikSCAT satellite. The data is hosted by the NSIDC and has been updated on multiple platforms.

Use Cases

• Calibrating and validating soil moisture retrieval algorithms using microwave backscatter.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of land surface properties across agricultural and natural landscapes in the SMEX03 regions.
• Studying the relationship between radar backscatter coefficients and soil moisture conditions.
• Supporting the development of satellite-based hydrological models for the southeastern US and Brazil.

Strengths

• Data originates from a focused, multi-region field experiment (SMEX03) designed for soil moisture validation.
• Collected by the SeaWinds scatterometer on NASA's operational QuikSCAT satellite, ensuring a standardized measurement source.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals recognized importance and curation.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: specific row/record count, file size, and detailed column names are unknown.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between platforms (2003-08-31 and 2026-03 12), creating uncertainty about version freshness.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' or 'None', requiring user verification.

Provenance

Source

NASA Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) satellite, SeaWinds instrument.

Collection Method

Satellite-collected microwave backscatter data during the Soil Moisture Experiment 2003 (SMEX03) campaign.

Time Range

2003

Freshness

2026-03-12 21:19:27.704172

Geography

SMEX03 areas: Alabama, Georgia, and Oklahoma, USA, and Brazil.