SMEX02 Sliced Soil Core Moisture Data from Iowa Watershed

Sliced soil core moisture data was collected during the Soil Moisture Experiment 2002 (SMEX02) in the Walnut Creek Watershed, Iowa. The dataset is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It represents a specific field campaign snapshot from the summer of 2002.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite soil moisture retrievals from missions like SMAP or SMOS using ground-truth core measurements.
• Analyzing soil moisture profiles with depth from sliced core data to understand water storage in agricultural fields.
• Studying spatial soil moisture variability within the Walnut Creek Watershed for hydrological modeling.
• Calibrating or testing soil moisture sensor networks and in-situ probes against direct core sampling methods.

Strengths

• Data originates from a controlled NASA field experiment (SMEX02) designed for satellite validation.
• Provides direct physical measurements of soil moisture via core sampling, a reliable ground-truth method.
• Dataset is hosted on multiple authoritative platforms (Data.gov, NASA Earthdata), indicating vetting and importance.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts exist: Data.gov lists a last update in 2026 (likely an error), while NASA Earthdata shows 2002.
• No column names, row counts, or specific file sizes are provided on any platform, obscuring data structure and volume.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' on Data.gov with no further details.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected via sliced soil core sampling during the Soil Moisture Experiment 2002 (SMEX02) field campaign.

Time Range

2002 (SMEX02 campaign period, likely June-July).

Freshness

2002-07-19 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Walnut Creek Watershed, Iowa, United States.