Yin, Liu Develop Optimally Blended Drought Index

ESSIC/CICS Assistant Research Scientists Jifu Yin and Jicheng Liu have a recent article published in Water Resources Research titled “A Method for Objectively Integrating Soil Moisture Satellite Observations and Model Simulations Toward a Blended Drought Index”.

The researchers write about the development of a method to objectively integrate widely available satellite soil moisture retrievals into a single accurate and reliable optimally blended drought index (BDI).

Compared to official drought records, the developed BDI_b showed the best performance on tracking drought developments over the 2009-2014 period.  These results suggest that model simulations and remotely sensed observations of soil moisture can be translated into useful information for drought monitoring and early warning, allowing for reduced drought risk and impacts.

In addition to his work with ESSIC/CICS, Yin also works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) as well as their Center for Satellite Application and Research (STAR).  His research interests include data assimilation, drought monitoring and land surface model.

Liu is also a Visiting Scientist with the NOAA-NESDIS. His current research interests include developing soil moisture retrieval algorithms using data from microwave satellite sensors.

To read the paper, click here: “A Method for Objectively Integrating Soil Moisture Satellite Observations and Model Simulations Toward a Blended Drought Index”.