SMEX04: In Situ Soil Bulk Density and Rock Fraction Data for Sonora

SMEX04 Bulk Density and Rock Fraction Data: Sonora, Version 1 is an in situ dataset collected during the Soil Moisture Experiment 2004 (SMEX04) in the regional study area of Sonora, Mexico. The dataset contains measurements of soil bulk density and rock fraction, likely supporting soil moisture modeling and land surface studies. Documentation was provided solely by the Principal Investigators and was not further developed or edited by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

Use Cases

• Validating satellite soil moisture retrievals based on in situ bulk density measurements.
• Modeling hydrological processes in semi-arid regions based on soil rock fraction data.
• Calibrating soil moisture sensors using field-collected physical property data.
• Assessing soil water storage capacity using bulk density and rock content.

Strengths

• Data originates from a structured NASA field experiment (Soil Moisture Experiment 2004).
• Cross-platform presence on datagov and nasa_earthdata signals established use.
• Provides specific in situ measurements for a defined regional study area.

Limitations

• Documentation support is explicitly limited, as it was not reviewed or edited by NSIDC.
• Column names and row counts are unknown across all sources, hindering detailed assessment.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date (2004 vs. 2026), indicating potential metadata inconsistency.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

In situ data collection as part of the Soil Moisture Experiment 2004 (SMEX04).

Time Range

2004

Freshness

2004-08-12 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Sonora, Mexico