SMEX03: Surface Roughness Measurements for Soil Moisture

SMEX03 Surface Roughness Data provides ground measurements from a 2003 field experiment across three U.S. states. This dataset supports the calibration and validation of satellite-based soil moisture retrievals, particularly for missions like NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP). Its regional focus on Alabama, Georgia, and Oklahoma offers specific in-situ data for modeling land surface interactions.

Use Cases

• Validating SMAP Level 1C radar backscatter (sigma naught) data using in-situ surface roughness measurements.
• Improving soil moisture retrieval algorithms by accounting for land surface roughness effects.
• Modeling radar backscatter over agricultural and regional study areas in the southern United States.
• Supporting the 2003 Soil Moisture Experiment (SMEX03) campaign analysis for land-atmosphere interactions.

Strengths

• Data is associated with a defined NASA field campaign (SMEX03), providing experimental context.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals recognized importance for the research community.
• Explicitly linked to the calibration/validation of a major satellite mission (SMAP).

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: no column names, row counts, or file sizes are provided by any source.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist (2003 vs. 2026), creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Documentation appears sparse, with platform descriptions being largely repetitive.

Provenance

Source

NSIDCV0 (National Snow and Ice Data Center V0)

Collection Method

Collected as part of the 2003 Soil Moisture Experiment (SMEX03) field campaign.

Time Range

2003

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:10:27.337509

Geography

Regional study areas of Alabama, Georgia, and Oklahoma, USA.