SMEX03 Soil Texture Classes for Alabama SCAN Sites

July 2003 data provides soil texture classifications for Soil Climate and Analysis (SCAN) sites in northern Alabama, USA, as part of the Soil Moisture Experiment 2003 (SMEX03). This ancillary dataset supports the analysis of soil moisture by characterizing the soil composition at specific monitoring locations. The data is associated with NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

Use Cases

• Validating soil moisture models based on soil texture classifications.
• Analyzing the relationship between soil type and moisture retention at SCAN monitoring sites.
• Providing ground truth data for satellite-based soil moisture retrieval algorithms from SMEX03.

Strengths

• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA Earthdata signals importance and accessibility.
• Associated with a specific, well-documented field campaign (Soil Moisture Experiment 2003).
• Provides targeted data for a defined geographic region (northern Alabama).

Limitations

• Documentation was provided solely by Principal Investigators and not reviewed/edited by NSIDC, indicating potential support gaps.
• Key metadata such as row count, column names, and file size are consistently listed as unknown or 'None'.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (2003-07-31 vs. 2026-04-09) create uncertainty about data currency.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), associated with the Soil Moisture Experiment 2003 (SMEX03).

Collection Method

Likely collected as part of the SMEX03 field campaign for specific Soil Climate and Analysis (SCAN) sites.

Time Range

2003-07-31

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:10:47.060940

Geography

Northern Alabama, USA