Aquarius

Aquarius is where my freeze–thaw work began. As first author, I developed and validated the first L-band detection of landscape freeze/thaw state from Aquarius’ backscatter data — showing that a scatterometer could reliably flag the frozen/thawed switch across the boreal and Arctic land surface, the signal that marks spring onset and frost timing.

That detection method became the basis for the operational SMAP freeze/thaw science product I now lead — a direct line from an early-career research result to a mission deliverable.