Soil Organic Carbon Grids for Mexico and USA at 250-m Resolution

NASA provides gridded estimates of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and uncertainty for the 0-30 cm topsoil layer across Mexico and the conterminous United States. The dataset includes two primary products: modeled estimates for 1991-2010 derived from multi-source field data and environmental variables using machine learning, and a validation set for 2009 2011 from independent field measurements. Both sets are provided at a 250-meter spatial resolution in kg SOC per square meter.

Use Cases

• Modeling continental soil carbon budgets using the 250-m resolution SOC and uncertainty grids.
• Validating regional ecosystem or Earth system models with the independent 2009-2011 SOC estimates.
• Assessing soil carbon sequestration potential by analyzing spatial patterns in the 1991-2010 SOC stock maps.
• Comparing predictions from different bulk density pedotransfer functions using the included uncertainty layers.

Strengths

• Provides two distinct time periods (1991-2010 and 2009-2011) for analysis and validation.
• Uses a machine learning approach (simulated annealing and regression tree ensembles) for prediction optimization.
• Includes associated uncertainty estimates derived from multiple bulk density pedotransfer functions.
• Covers a large geographic area spanning two countries at a detailed 250-meter resolution.

Limitations

• Conflicting last updated dates exist between sources: Data.gov lists 2026-03-12, while NASA Earthdata lists 2011-12 31.
• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided on any platform.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from multi-source SOC field data and environmental variables using simulated annealing and regression tree ensemble modeling.

Time Range

1991-2011

Freshness

2026-03-12 21:22:08.693790

Geography

Mexico and the conterminous United States (CONUS)