Global 70-Meter Resolution Downscaled Soil Moisture Estimates

ECOSTRESS satellite data provides instantaneous soil moisture estimates at a 70-meter spatial resolution globally between 52° N and 52° S latitudes. The LPCLOUD organization produces this Level 3 product by downscaling Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-5) model data using regression with surface temperature, NDVI, and albedo predictors. Data collection began after the instrument's launch to the International Space Station in June 2018.

Use Cases

• Model crop water stress by analyzing soil moisture (SM) layer patterns against vegetation indices.
• Validate and calibrate land surface models using the 70-meter resolution SM estimates as ground truth proxies.
• Assess drought impact by tracking temporal changes in the SM layer across specific Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) tiles.
• Mask out unreliable pixels for analysis using the provided cloud mask and water mask layers.

Strengths

• High 70-meter spatial resolution for detailed soil moisture mapping.
• Global coverage between 52° N and 52° S latitudes.
• Product contains three distinct data layers: soil moisture, cloud mask, and water mask.

Limitations

• Known data acquisition gaps exist, including a switch to limited Thermal Infrared bands from May 2019 to April 2023, affecting some derived inputs.
• Spatial coverage is limited to latitudes between 52° N and 52° S, excluding polar regions.
• Temporal coverage may be irregular due to instrument anomalies and the International Space Station's orbit.

Provenance

Source

ECOSTRESS instrument on the International Space Station, processed by LPCLOUD.

Collection Method

Soil moisture estimates are downscaled using linear regression with up-sampled surface temperature, NDVI, and albedo as predictors against GEOS-5 model data.

Time Range

Data collection began after launch in June 2018; specific start and end dates are not provided.

Geography

Global coverage between 52 degrees North and 52 degrees South latitude.