SAFARI 2000 Soil Profiles from Southern African Flux Tower Sites

SAFARI 2000 Soil Properties, Moisture, and Temp., Skukuza and Mongu, 1999-2001 contains in-situ measurements from two flux tower sites in Zambia and South Africa. NASA deployed sensors to collect soil moisture and temperature profiles to depths of 125 cm, surface radiometric temperature, and analyzed soil samples for physical properties. The dataset covers the period from August 1999 to December 2001.

Use Cases

• Calibrating remote sensing soil moisture estimates using ground-truth measurements from sensor profiles.
• Analyzing the relationship between soil temperature, moisture at various depths (up to 125 cm), and surface heat flux from the installed plate.
• Modeling soil physical properties like bulk density and texture using laboratory analysis data from collected samples.
• Studying diurnal and seasonal cycles of soil conditions in Combretum stands and Kataba Local Forest ecosystems.

Strengths

• Includes multiple measurement types: soil moisture/temperature profiles, surface temperature, heat flux, and lab-analyzed soil physical properties.
• Provides detailed site descriptions, including sensor deployment depths (e.g., 10 cm for heat flux) and locations relative to flux towers.
• Covers a multi-year time range from 1999 to 2001 for two distinct Southern African sites.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and complete column names are not provided by any source.
• Metadata files indicate periods of missing data within the collection period.
• A conflict exists on the last updated date: Data.gov lists 2026-03-12 (likely a placeholder), while NASA Earthdata lists 2001-12 -31.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

In-situ sensor deployment (soil moisture/temperature profiles, thermal infrared, heat-flux plate) and laboratory analysis of collected soil samples.

Time Range

1999-08 to 2001-12

Freshness

2001-12-31 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Mongu, Zambia and Skukuza, South Africa