SMAP Near Real-Time Global Soil Moisture from L-Band Radiometer

Near Real-Time SMAP L2 Radiometer Half-Orbit 36 km EASE-Grid Soil Moisture V107 provides global land surface soil moisture estimates from the SMAP satellite's L-band radiometer. Data are available within three hours of observation and provide at least fourteen consecutive days of coverage from 86.4°S to 86.4°N latitude. This operational product is produced by the NSIDC DAAC using the latest ancillary data to minimize latency.

Use Cases

• Monitoring agricultural drought conditions by analyzing surface soil moisture estimates across croplands.
• Initializing numerical weather prediction models with near real-time global soil moisture data.
• Supporting flood risk assessment by identifying antecedent soil wetness conditions from recent half-orbit swaths.
• Providing rapid input for disaster response teams to understand land surface saturation after extreme weather events.

Strengths

• Data latency is exceptionally low, with products available within three hours of satellite observation.
• Provides consistent global coverage from 86.4°S to 86.4°N latitude, with the satellite completing an orbit every two to three days.
• Users have continuous access to a rolling archive of at least fourteen consecutive days of near real-time data.

Limitations

• This is a Near Real-Time (NRT) product intended for operational use; its quality is lower than the standard, scientifically-validated SMAP SPL2SMP product.
• Key metadata such as row count, file size, specific column names, and license information are unavailable across all provided sources.
• The 'last updated' date on the datagov platform (2026-03-13) is a future date, indicating a potential metadata error or conflict.

Provenance

Source

NSIDC_CPRD (NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center)

Collection Method

Passive microwave remote sensing via the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite's L-band radiometer.

Time Range

A rolling window of at least the most recent fourteen consecutive days.

Freshness

2026-03-13 20:24:36.004461 (from datagov, but this is a future date and may be erroneous).

Geography

Global land surface, from 86.4°S to 86.4°N latitude, in 1000 km wide swaths.