  Spatially and temporally explicit canopy water content (CWC) data are
important for monitoring vegetation status, and constitute essential
information for studying ecosystem-climate interactions. Despite many efforts
there is currently no operational CWC product available to users. In the
context of the Satellite Application Facility for Land Surface Analysis
(LSA-SAF), we have developed an algorithm to produce a global dataset of CWC
based on data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensor
on board Meteorological Operational (MetOp) satellites forming the EUMETSAT
Polar System (EPS). CWC reflects the water conditions at the leaf level and
information related to canopy structure. An accuracy assessment of the
EPS/AVHRR CWC indicated a close agreement with multi-temporal ground data from
SMAPVEX16 in Canada and Dahra in Senegal. The present study further evaluates
the consistency of the LSA-SAF product with respect to the Simplified Level 2
Product Prototype Processor (SL2P) product, and demonstrates its applicability
at different spatio-temporal resolutions using optical data from MSI/Sentinel-2
and MODIS/Terra and Aqua. We conclude that the EPS/AVHRR CWC product is a
promising tool for monitoring vegetation water status at regional and global
scales.
