Professor Kim, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Hai (Postdoctoral researcher), Seongjun Lee (graduate student) and Kunhee Park (graduate student) visited Unite States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Maryland, USA for the past 18 to 21 November 2024 with experts in the field of water resources. The two institutions are leading international research institutes using Earth Observation (EO) satellites in various fields, including climate, agriculture, and forests, including water resources.
[USDA]
The main agendas at the USDA were "Exchange of the status of USDA soil moisture monitoring sites and current research" and "Introduction to hydrological weather variable monitoring sites in Korea." Starting with a keynote speech by Dr. Michael Cosh, Supervisory Research Hydrologist at USDA Agricultural Research Service, we were able to identify research trends in hydrological remote sensing at USDA, including watershed monitoring based on soil moisture network data, drought monitoring and agricultural monitoring applications, and utilization strategies for biomass/yield mapping and freeze saw detection.
Professor Kim and other domestic researchers sought ways to conduct joint research by establishing a core domestic verification site for satellite soil moisture calibration and introducing domestic soil moisture observation sites and sharing research. After the meeting, we were able to visit the OPE3 field and tour the USDA soil moisture observation site to gain insight into the construction of a domestic soil moisture observation site.
Through this international exchange, we were able to analyze research trends related to remote sensing of water resources abroad in detail, and it was a meaningful opportunity to form a mid- to long-term international exchange and human network, not just a short-term visit.
