Validation of a Sentinel-1 soil moisture product in a mountain catchment

The European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 mission provides observations at spatial resolutions of up to 10 m, making it more relevant not only for continental but also for regional hydrological applications. While previous studies have shown that remotely sensed soil moisture can improve runoff simulations in lowlands, the use of satellite-derived soil moisture products in mountainous environments remains limited due to challenging topography, varying climate conditions, and the lack of reference measurements. This study presents in situ soil moisture measurements collected in the Western Tatra Mountains and their comparison with a newly developed Sentinel-1 surface soil moisture product. The study was conducted in the Jalovecký Creek catchment (Western Tatras, Slovakia), which represents the typical hydrological conditions of the headwater catchments in the highest part of the Carpathian Mountains. Field campaigns were carried out at multiple open and forested sites, focusing on elevation gradients, land cover types, and aspect under different wetness conditions to capture soil moisture variability. Results from the field measurements and the validation of the satellite-derived soil moisture product will be presented.

 

This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under Contracts No. APVV-23-0332 and VV-MVP-24-0208, the VEGA Grant Agency No. 2/0019/23, and the Danube Region Programme: DRP0200156 Danube Water Balance. The financial support by the Action Austria - Slovakia, Cooperation in Science and Education (project No. 2025-03-15-005) is also gratefully acknowledged.