AirMOSS P-Band Radar Data for Root-Zone Soil Moisture

AirMOSS provides Level 1 polarimetric radar backscatter data collected by a NASA airborne P-band synthetic aperture radar. The dataset covers at least biannual flights from 2012 to 2015 across 10 study sites in North America, with this specific subset from the Metolius site in Oregon. These calibrated, georeferenced measurements are designed to retrieve root-zone soil moisture for studying its links to carbon fluxes.

Use Cases

• Retrieving root-zone soil moisture (RZSM) using polarimetric backscattering coefficient (sigma-0) measurements.
• Analyzing seasonal and inter-annual variability in soil moisture across North American ecosystems.
• Investigating relationships between soil moisture and carbon fluxes at a continental scale.
• Calibrating or validating satellite-based soil moisture models with high-resolution airborne radar data.
• Studying subcanopy and subsurface properties using fully polarimetric P-band (UHF) radar signals.

Strengths

• Data is polarimetrically calibrated and georeferenced, providing ready-to-use scientific measurements.
• Covers a multi-year time series from 2012 to 2015 with at least biannual sampling at each site.
• Includes data from 10 distinct study sites across North America, allowing for continental-scale analysis.
• Uses P-band (420-440 MHz) radar, which is specifically sensitive to root-zone and subsurface properties.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and a complete column list are not provided by any source.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' metadata: one source lists 2015-09-29, while others list 2026-03-13.
• The license is inconsistently reported as 'other-license-specified' or 'None', requiring user verification.

Provenance

Source

Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS) radar instrument, flown on a NASA Gulfstream-III aircraft.

Collection Method

Airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) collection, with data processed to Level 1 (polarimetric radar backscattering coefficient, sigma-0).

Time Range

2012 to 2015

Freshness

2026-03 13 06:24:45.416343

Geography

Metolius site in Oregon, as part of a campaign across 10 study sites in North America.