NASA Earthdata provides an indicator for stored soil moisture readily available to crops, known as Easily Available Water (EAW). The data is derived from water retention at 2 bar suction to separate moisture accessible to plant roots from more tightly held water. It is produced by the CEOS_EXTRA organization using a conceptual model of effective rooting depth.
Use Cases
- Modeling crop water stress by analyzing the Easily Available Water (EAW) indicator across different regions.
- Estimating irrigation requirements by comparing EAW values against crop water demand thresholds.
- Assessing drought risk for agriculture by monitoring spatial and temporal variations in readily available soil moisture.
- Calibrating hydrological models using the 2 bar suction water retention parameter as a key soil characteristic.
Strengths
- Data originates from the authoritative NASA Earthdata platform and CEOS_EXTRA organization.
- Indicator is based on a defined physical model (2 bar suction) for separating plant-available water.
Limitations
- Specific data volume, spatial resolution, and temporal coverage are unknown.
- The conceptual model of effective rooting depth may introduce simplifications not applicable to all soil or crop types.
Provenance
- Source
- NASA Earthdata via CEOS_EXTRA organization.
- Collection Method
- Derived using a conceptual model based on water retention at 2 bar suction and effective rooting depth.
- Time Range
- null
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Global coverage is implied but specific extent is unknown.