The first Progress Review Meeting of SarWater is due soon

2026-01-26T11:00:00Z

We are pleased to announce that the first Progress Review Meeting of the SarWater project will be held in Bari (Italy) on 26 March 2026.

During the meeting, we will present the results of the initial review of the key scientific questions related to the understanding of soil moisture and vegetation water content variables, as well as the review of the retrieval algorithms based on multi‑frequency SAR data. A central topic of discussion will be the plan for the validation of SARWATER products, which represents a crucial step toward ensuring their scientific robustness and operational relevance. In this context, the role of NISAR data in SARWATER - and its potential implications for the project plan - will also be addressed.

SARWater project kick-off

2025-09-23T15:00:00Z

We are excited to announce that the SAR retrieval of soil and vegetation water content (SARWATER) project kicked off today, the 23rd of September 2025 at ESA ESRIN. SARWATER project responds to the call ESA CfP/5-50086/24/I-DT-bgh, Sentinel User Preparation (SUP) in SAR – Fundamental Scientific Developments (SUPSAR) and will last two years.

The goal of the study is to develop advanced retrieval algorithms for surface soil moisture and vegetation water content at high spatial resolution (~250 m), using multi-mission SAR data at C- and L-band data. A key component of the study is to demonstrate and assess the impacts of the newly developed SARWATER products for hydrological and agricultural applications, i.e. the improvements of root zone moisture and evaporation estimates and the detection and quantification of irrigation extent.

During the meeting, the project partners, CNR-IREA, FJG and UGent illustrated and discussed the activities foreseen in the project. The final prototype products fully validated as well as the demonstration products will be made available to the scientific community.

Stay tuned!