Satellite inspired hydrology in an uncertain future: a H SAF and HEPEX workshop

Soil moisture is a key parameter for environmental (e.g. flood, drought,fire) and weather prediction systems. The EUMETSAT H SAF products give information on both surface and root zone soil moisture. The ASCAT Surface Soil Moisture (SSM) products are produced globally in near real-time and represent the water content in the upper soil layer (< 2cm). The SSM products are distributed in two...

H SAF provides satellite-derived products of precipitation, soil moisture and snow. These products are continuously validated to guarantee optimal performance. Various soil moisture (SM) products are distributed in near real-time, namely, the surface SM product derived from the radar backscattering coefficients measured by the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) on-board the series of Metop...

Precipitation is the most important variable in Earth hydrological budget being the major component of water cycle. For this reason, the better under¬standing of the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation, and its quantification, is fundamental for any hydrological and climatological application. Although surface precipitation gauges are considered the standard devices for...

The H SAF concept was born on the requirements of the hydrologic community and is focused on
the development and operational delivery of satellite products that can be used in work pursued by
the National Hydrological Services and water management institutions. In H SAF program are
available two types of validation on precipitation products: quality assessment and hydrological
validation....

Reliable snow cover extent is of vital importance in order to have a comprehensive understanding for present and future climate, hydrological, and ecological dynamics. Development of methodologies to obtain reliable snow cover information by means of optical and microwave remote sensing (RS) has long been one of the most active research topics of the RS community.
Operational snow products...

H SAF provides satellite-derived products of precipitation, soil moisture and snow. These products are yearly validated to guarantee optimal performance. Under the project, different snow products are distributed in near real-time, namely, SE-E-SEVIRI (Snow detection by VIS/IR radiometry); WS-E (Snow status - dry/wet - by MW radiometry); FSC-E (Effective snow cover by VIS/IR radiometry) and...