A critical evaluation of the Hydra Probe for use in the validation of remote sensing soil freeze/thaw products

The seasonal soil freeze/thaw (F/T) cycle has been shown to play an important role in many environmental processes. Microwave remote sensing offers a promising means for monitoring global changes to this cycle. However, remote sensing F/T products require ground validation to ensure product accuracy. This research evaluated the use of a commonly used soil moisture probe for the validation of a remote sensing F/T product. Initial work explored the use of the Hydra Probe for F/T detection in a small-scale plot and determined that the probe was able to successfully detect F/T cycles. Following this research, another plot study was conducted to validate a remote sensing F/T product using the probe. The results showed that the configuration of networks can be applied for the validation of a radiometer F/T product. Overall, the findings of this research confirm that soil moisture stations outfitted with the Hydra Probe can be used for the validation of remote sensing F/T products.