Speaker: Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, associate professor, Universidad de La Frontera and associate researcher, Center for Climate and Resilience Research

Soil moisture is a key factor influencing the interactions between the atmosphere and processes at the Earth’s surface. Recent advances in remote sensing and land surface modeling have improved the estimation of soil moisture in ungauged areas. Zambrano- Bigiarini will discuss a study that evaluates the performance of four state-of-the-art gridded soil moisture products – SPL4SMAU, GLDAS, ERA5 and ERA5-Land – compared to in situ measurements at ten sites in near-natural shrubland and native forest ecosystems in the semi-arid and humid regions of central and southern Chile.