Jalilvand et al. (2026) Beyond SMAP: Can GNSS‐R Platforms Ensure Continuity of Global Soil Moisture Observations?

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Water Resources Research
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-01
• Authors: Ehsan Jalilvand, Sujay V. Kumar, Rajat Bindlish, Jerry Wegiel, Mehmet Kurum, Hyunglok Kim, Pang‐Wei Liu, Mahdi Navari
• DOI: 10.1029/2026wr044944

Research Groups

• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Department of Hydrology
• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
• European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)

Short Summary

This study compares and contrasts the soil moisture retrieval capabilities of GNSS-R and SMAP missions, highlighting their complementarity strengths in a resilient global observing system.

Objective

• Investigate the feasibility of using GNSS-R as an alternative or complementary approach to SMAP for soil moisture retrieval

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global coverage with focus on land surfaces
• Temporal Scale: Sub-daily observations, with potential for near-real-time data availability

Methodology and Data

• Models used: None mentioned; instead, a comparative analysis of GNSS-R and SMAP products was performed
• Data sources: Satellite navigation signals (GNSS-R) and L-band radiometer measurements (SMAP)

Main Results

• GNSS-R retrievals exhibit variable spatial sampling and canopy attenuation
• Highest-performing GNSS-R products are typically trained, calibrated, or benchmarked against SMAP data
• GNSS-R can deliver sub-daily observations with lower upfront costs compared to single-platform missions like SMAP

Contributions

• This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the complementarity strengths of GNSS-R and SMAP in a global soil moisture observing system
• The findings highlight the need for sustained investment in both L-band missions (like SMAP) and the expanding GNSS-R constellation

Funding

• NASA's Earth Science Division (Grant #NNX17AC52G)
• European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Grant #101004586)

Citation

@article{Jalilvand2026Beyond,
  author = {Jalilvand, Ehsan and Kumar, Sujay V. and Bindlish, Rajat and Wegiel, Jerry and Kurum, Mehmet and Kim, Hyunglok and Liu, Pang‐Wei and Navari, Mahdi},
  title = {Beyond SMAP: Can GNSS‐R Platforms Ensure Continuity of Global Soil Moisture Observations?},
  journal = {Water Resources Research},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2026wr044944},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2026wr044944}
}