The application of FY3/MWRI soil moisture product in the summer drought monitoring of middle China

FY-3B is the second satellite of FY3 (Feng Yun 3) series which was launched on November 5, 2010. One of the eleven instruments on board the FY-3B satellite is the Microwave Radiation Imager (MWRI) which is a high sensitive microwave radiometer [1]. It has 5 different frequencies from 10.65GHz to 89GHz with dual polarization. The MWRI instrument provides measurements of terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric parameters, including precipitation rate, sea ice concentration, snow water equivalent, soil moisture, atmospheric cloud water, and water vapor [2]. Soil moisture, as a key parameter in the drought monitoring, becomes especially concerned. The FY-3B/MWRI soil moisture product provides global observations of land surface soil moisture. In the summer of 2014, Henan Province which is located in the middle area of China suffered severe drought. The soil moisture of this area remained a very low level all along until significant precipitation finally came in last September. This paper will give an introduction of the application of FY-3B/MWRI soil moisture product during this drought event.