BOREAS HYD-06: Aircraft Gamma Ray Soil Moisture

Aircraft-collected gamma ray measurements provide soil moisture data by weight for boreal forest regions. Data includes flight path coordinates and was collected during multiple periods from September 1993 to September 1994. This dataset supports research into terrestrial hydrology and ecosystem processes.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite soil moisture retrievals using aircraft-based gamma ray measurements.
• Modeling boreal ecosystem hydrology based on spatially distributed soil water content.
• Analyzing temporal soil moisture changes from flight data collected across multiple seasons.

Strengths

• Data collection spans a full annual cycle, from September 1993 to September 1994.
• Includes precise geospatial coordinates indicating aircraft flight paths for each data bin.
• Cross-platform presence on datagov and nasa_earthdata signals established scientific use.

Limitations

• Column names and exact data structure are unspecified across all sources.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata (1994 vs. 2026) creates uncertainty about provenance.
• Dataset size and row counts are unknown, limiting assessment of scope.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measured from aircraft using a terrestrial gamma ray instrument.

Time Range

September 1993 to September 1994

Freshness

2026-03-13 07:28:49.267502

Geography

BOREAS Southern Study Area (SSA) and Northern Study Area (NSA)