ESA’s soil moisture and ocean salinity (SMOS) mission has successfully completed its nominal 3-years life time in November 2012. Given its scientific and technological excellence, the mission will continue to operate and provide global soil moisture and ocean salinity data. The completion of the nominal lifetime is an important milestone and this session will address major scientific achievements based on data provided by the SMOS mission s far. The focus will be on:


i. Major scientific achievements based on SMOS data products, including level 1 (brightness temperatures) and level 2 (soil moisture and ocean salinity) data,
ii. Innovative applications, going beyond initial mission objectives, based on SMOS data products,
iii. Calibration aspects and algorithm development in support to improving SMOS data quality,
iv. Validation of the SMOS soil moisture, ocean salinity and vegetation data products using in-situ, airborne campaigns' and satellite measurements; in particular inter-comparisons with Aquarius' sea surface salinity and soil moisture data products are encouraged.
v. Using SMOS data in data assimilation and predictive models in general.