Retrieve soil parameters from satellite measured soil moisture

To study hydrology and water resources, soil information is essential. However, traditional soil survey is time consuming and labor intensive. On the other hand, there is great uncertainty in currently used soil databases. To solve this problem, collaborating with scientists from NASA and DOE, I developed a novel method to retrieve soil parameters from satellite measured soil moisture (Pan et al., 2010). In 2010, I received one of 32 nationally competitive Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards from Oak Ridge Associated Universities for continuing this research.



• Pan F., Peters-Lidard C.D., and King A.W., Inverse method for estimating the spatial variability of soil particle size distribution from observed soil moisture. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 15(11), 931-938, 2010. (PDF)


• Pan F. and Peters-Lidard C.D., On the relationship between mean and variance of soil moisture fields. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 44(1), 235-242, 2008. (PDF)