New soil moisture measurements derived from the SMOS mission is providing novel accurate data with a high acquisition frequency at global scales. However the low resolution of these data and the difficulties to integrate satellite information into hydrological models poses significant challenges. In this context, the SMOS + Hydrology study proposes to foster the scientific return of SMOS data promoting their use by the hydrological and water management community. Consequently, the main targets of this study are:

(a) the exploration of the potential and limits of SMOS data including both L1 brightness temperatures (TB) and L2 soil moisture to be used by the hydrological community over large river basins and at continental scales;

(b) the development and validation of suitable robust end-to-end methodologies (from data acquisition to data assimilation approaches) enabling the effective exploitation of SMOS data including L1 brightness temperatures and L2 soil moisture into hydrological models;

(c) the implementation on a number of suitable test cases of the developed methodologies and the demonstration of the benefits of the SMOS data for hydrological modelling and the prediction of floods.

The study objectives will be addressed using the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model, SMOS observations, and the corresponding forcing and validation data over the Upper Mississippi and the Murray Darling Basins in the United States and Australia, respectively.