SMOS was delivering it’s first image…Now after seven years, not only SMOS data quality has greatly improved but also has been used in an ever increasing number of scientific and applied uses. This is due to both the quality and uniqueness of the measurements and because the measurements are new and very relevant.To illustrate this point let’s have a look at the magnificent animation prepared by Lars Kaleschke and his team at the University of Hamburg. We can see the evolution of the North Pole ice cap through SMOS “eye”. They noted that 2016 was the slowest sea ice growth since 2010….
Towards a climate data record: 7 years of Arctic freeze-up observed with SMOS
Kaleschke, L., et al., SMOS sea ice product: Operational application and validation in the Barents Sea marginal ice zone, Remote Sensing of Environment (2016).
Mecklenburg, S., et al., ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission: From science to operational applications. Remote Sensing of Environment (2016).