SURFACE SOIL MOISTURE ASSESSMENT IN TAIWAN USING MODIS DATA

摘要

Soil moisture is a key factor in controlling the exchange of water between land surface and plant transpiration. The main focus of this study is to assess soil moisture conditions in the plains of Taiwan using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Precipitation data are used for accuracy validation. A simple surface dryness index (temperature-vegetation dryness index - TVDI) based on an empirical parameterization of the relationship between Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), is used for estimating land surface soil moisture. The initial results reveal that there is good agreement between the TVDI and precipitation data, indicating that TVDI is a good indicator of soil moisture conditions. This study demonstrates the usefulness of utilizing MODIS data in soil moisture monitoring in the plains of Taiwan.