NASA ARSET Training, "Application of NASA SPoRT-Land Information System (SPoRT-LIS) Soil Moisture Data for Drought"
This training is focused on the introduction of the NASA Land Information System (LIS) output of soil moisture at various depths for drought analysis and monitoring. Traditional drought applications and indices focus on sensible weather (temperature, wind, etc.) and precipitation trends and their impacts on the hydrologic system. As a result of the NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center (SPoRT) program and its research-to-operations (R2O) work, this training will demonstrate how LIS output of soil moisture from a land surface model (LSM) can be included in traditional drought monitoring applications. The NASA SPoRT Program has implemented a version of NASA LIS (SPoRT-LIS) that utilizes near real-time Green Vegetation Fraction (GVF) from S-NPP/VIIRS retrievals, as opposed to static, climatology values of GVF.
Additionally, near real-time forcing of the LSM by the Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) precipitation and the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) sensible weather data provide near real-time, observation-driven products with ~2–8 hours latency. Each of these enable a more accurate depiction of vegetation and soil moisture impacts related to both long-term and short-term drought events, including rapid-onset flash drought events. Research-to-Operations work at SPoRT has led to the development of value-added products such as the derived percentile products for soil moisture. For example, low percentile values from SPoRT-LIS have been shown to correspond well to areas experiencing short-term drought within the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM). Via Operations-to-Research (O2R) activities with end-users, soil moisture changes on various timescales pertinent to drought applications have been added to the SPoRT-LIS output data suite.
A user will be able to apply LIS output to efficiently analyze drought over large spatial areas in conjunction with current practices and to integrate this capability with existing data.
• Identify the NASA/LIS basics regarding the framework, input forcing, static fields, LSM structure, and output most relevant to drought
• Summarize the derived soil moisture percentile products and how these are created
• Apply SPoRT-LIS output and/or derived products to both complement existing data and overcome limitations to monitoring drought over large areas
• Recognize ‘best practices’ for LIS impact related to drought Configure LIS output file for viewing within a GIS-based display tool and for tailored output products and graphics