SMEX04: Surface Roughness Data for Soil Moisture Experiment

2004 data collected over regional study areas in Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico as part of the Soil Moisture Experiment (SMEX04). The dataset comprises surface roughness measurements, which are a key parameter for understanding land surface interactions. Documentation was provided solely by the Principal Investigator(s) and was not further developed or thoroughly reviewed by NSIDC, indicating support may be limited.

Use Cases

• Calibrating microwave remote sensing models for soil moisture based on surface roughness parameters.
• Validating land surface models that simulate energy and water fluxes over semi-arid regions.
• Analyzing the relationship between topography and soil moisture retention in the Sonora and Arizona study areas.

Strengths

• Data is associated with a defined scientific campaign, the 2004 Soil Moisture Experiment (SMEX04).
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals recognized importance and availability.

Limitations

• Documentation was not reviewed or edited by the hosting organization (NSIDC), indicating potential gaps in support.
• Specific column names, data size, and row counts are unknown across all sources, limiting understanding of data structure.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (2004-08-25 and 2026-04-09) create uncertainty about metadata maintenance.

Provenance

Source

Principal Investigator(s) of the SMEX04 experiment, provided to NSIDC.

Collection Method

Collected as part of the 2004 Soil Moisture Experiment field campaign.

Time Range

2004

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:55:32.685621

Geography

Regional study areas in Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico.