Abstract
A Geostatistical Comparison of SSURGO and JPL Data
Track: Water Resources
Author(s): Kedric Szana
A major factor in rainfall-runoff modeling is soil characteristics. SSURGO data has been the best and only reliable source of soil characteristics until recently. For the past 5 years, NASA’s JPL has been collecting soil moisture data via the PALS airborne sensor. The spatial resolution of PALS data is typically much higher than the SSURGO data. In addition, soil moisture data can be obtained over time that can determine saturation and drying times.
The main parameters defined for rainfall-runoff modeling include initial soil moisture, saturated soil moisture, the rate at which infiltration decays and the time it takes for the soil to dry out. SSURGO data contains recommended parameters for all these values based upon the hydrologic code. The PALS soil moisture data can enhance all these parameters and it measures soil moisture over time. This paper demonstrates the main advantages of using JPL data in conjunction with SSURGO data.
Kedric Szana
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