Discussions Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2017-53 Earth System Manuscript under review for journal Earth Syst. Sci. Data Science Discussion started: 12 July 2017 c Author(s) 2017. CC BY 4.0 License. Open Access Open Data Evolution of soil and plant parameters on the agricultural Gebesee test site: a database for the set-up and validation of EO-LDAS and other satellite-aided retrieval models Sina C. Truckenbrodt1, Christiane C. Schmullius1 5 1Fernerkundung, Institut für Geographie, Friedrich–Schiller–Universität Jena, Löbdergraben 32, 07743 Jena, Germany Correspondence to: Sina Truckenbrodt (
[email protected]) Abstract. Ground reference data are a prerequisite for the calibration, update and validation of retrieval models facilitating the monitoring of land parameters based on Earth Observation data. Here, we describe the acquisition of a comprehensive ground reference database which was elaborated to test and validate the recently developed Earth Observation Land Data Assimilation 10 System (EO-LDAS). In situ data was collected for seven crop types (winter barley, winter wheat, spring wheat, durum, winter rape, potato and sugar beet) cultivated on the agricultural Gebesee test site, central Germany, in 2013 and 2014. The database contains information on hyperspectral surface reflectance, the evolution of biophysical and biochemical plant parameters, phenology, surface conditions, atmospheric states, and a set of ground control points. Ground reference data was gathered with an approximately weekly resolution and on different spatial scales to investigate variations within and between acreages. In 15 situ data collected less than 1 day apart from satellite acquisitions (RapidEye, SPOT5, Landsat-7 and -8) with a cloud coverage ≤ 25 % is available for 10 and 16 days in 2013 and 2014, respectively.