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Soil Moisture/Water Content Data Access and Tools
NASA has soil moisture and water content datasets that help researchers characterize the condition of soil around the world. Access a range of data and data tools such as the Soil Moisture Visualizer, Crop Condition and Soil Moisture Analytics (Crop-CASMA), and AppEEARS to make the most of soil moisture data.
Soil Moisture/Water Content Datasets
| Dataset Sort descending | Version | Platform | Instrument | Temporal Extent | Spatial Extent | Spatial Resolution | Data Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MERRA-2 tavgU_2d_lnd_Nx: 2d,diurnal,Time-Averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Land Surface Diagnostics 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4 (M2TUNXLND) at GES DISC | 5.12.4 | MERRA-2 | NOT APPLICABLE | 1980-01-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
0.625 Decimal Degrees x 0.5 Decimal Degrees | |
| NACP: Forest Carbon Stocks, Fluxes and Productivity Estimates, Western USA, 1979-2099 | 1 | MODELS | Computer | 1979-01-01 to 2099-12-31 |
N: 49.0351 S: 31.1875 E: -101.961 W: -124.812 |
netCDF-4 classic | |
| NACP MsTMIP: Global 0.5-degree Model Outputs in Standard Format, Version 1.0 | 1 | MODELS | Computer | 1900-01-01 to 2010-12-31 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
netCDF-4 classic | |
| NAMMA SENEGAL RADIOSONDE AND TOWER FLUX DATA V1 | 1 | GROUND STATIONS, RADIOSONDES | NET RADIOMETERS, GPS, HUMIDITY SENSORS, PRESSURE SENSORS, TELEMETER, TEMPERATURE SENSORS | 2006-08-19 to 2006-09-17 |
N: 15.5 S: 13.91 E: 17.09 W: -17.97 |
ASCII | |
| NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Land Information System (LIS) | 1 | COMPUTERS | 1981-01-01 to 2025-12-31 |
N: 52.915 S: 24.396 E: -66.885 W: -124.925 |
ASCII, Binary, GRIB1, GRIB2 | ||
| NASMo-TiAM 250m 16-day North America Surface Soil Moisture Dataset | 1 | COMPUTERS | Computer | 2002-06-26 to 2020-12-31 |
N: 82.7193 S: 14.5312 E: -39.9955 W: -180 |
COG | |
| NCA-LDAS Noah-3.3 Land Surface Model L4 Daily 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NCALDAS_NOAH0125_D) at GES DISC | 2.0 | Noah-LSM | NOT APPLICABLE | 1979-01-02 to 2016-12-31 |
N: 53 S: 25 E: -67 W: -125 |
0.125 Decimal Degrees x 0.125 Decimal Degrees | |
| NCA-LDAS Noah-3.3 Land Surface Model L4 Trends 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NCALDAS_NOAH0125_Trends) at GES DISC | 2.0 | Noah-LSM | NOT APPLICABLE | 1979-10-01 to 2015-09-30 |
N: 53 S: 25 E: -67 W: -125 |
0.125 Decimal Degrees x 0.125 Decimal Degrees | |
| Near Real-time SMAP L2 Radiometer Half-Orbit 36 km EASE-Grid Soil Moisture V107 | 107 | SMAP | SMAP L-BAND RADIOMETER | 2025-06-26 to Present |
N: 85.044 S: -85.044 E: 180 W: -180 |
36 Kilometers x 36 Kilometers | HDF5 |
| NISAR Beta Soil Moisture (Version 1) | 1 | NISAR | L-SAR | 2025-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF5, XML, YAML | |
| NLDAS Mosaic Land Surface Model L4 Hourly 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NLDAS_MOS0125_H) at GES DISC | 2.0 | Mosaic-LSM | NOT APPLICABLE | 1979-01-02 to Present |
N: 53 S: 25 E: -67 W: -125 |
0.125 Decimal Degrees x 0.125 Decimal Degrees | |
| NLDAS Mosaic Land Surface Model L4 Monthly 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NLDAS_MOS0125_M) at GES DISC | 2.0 | Mosaic-LSM | NOT APPLICABLE | 1979-01-01 to Present |
N: 53 S: 25 E: -67 W: -125 |
0.124 Decimal Degrees x 0.125 Decimal Degrees | |
| NLDAS Mosaic Land Surface Model L4 Monthly Climatology 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NLDAS_MOS0125_MC) at GES DISC | 2.0 | Mosaic-LSM | NOT APPLICABLE | 1981-01-01 to 2020-12-31 |
N: 53 S: 25 E: -67 W: -125 |
0.125 Decimal Degrees x 0.125 Decimal Degrees | |
| NLDAS Noah Land Surface Model L4 Hourly 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NLDAS_NOAH0125_H) at GES DISC | 2.0 | Noah-LSM | NOT APPLICABLE | 1979-01-02 to Present |
N: 53 S: 25 E: -67 W: -125 |
0.125 Decimal Degrees x 0.125 Decimal Degrees | |
| NLDAS Noah Land Surface Model L4 Monthly 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NLDAS_NOAH0125_M) at GES DISC | 2.0 | Noah-LSM | NOT APPLICABLE | 1979-01-01 to Present |
N: 53 S: 25 E: -67 W: -125 |
0.125 Decimal Degrees x 0.125 Decimal Degrees | |
| NLDAS Noah Land Surface Model L4 Monthly Climatology 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NLDAS_NOAH0125_MC) at GES DISC | 2.0 | Noah-LSM | NOT APPLICABLE | 1981-01-01 to 2020-12-31 |
N: 53 S: 25 E: -67 W: -125 |
0.125 Decimal Degrees x 0.125 Decimal Degrees | |
| NLDAS VIC Land Surface Model L4 Hourly 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NLDAS_VIC0125_H) at GES DISC | 2.0 | VIC-LSM | NOT APPLICABLE | 1979-01-02 to Present |
N: 53 S: 25 E: -67 W: -125 |
0.125 Decimal Degrees x 0.125 Decimal Degrees | |
| NLDAS VIC Land Surface Model L4 Monthly 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NLDAS_VIC0125_M) at GES DISC | 2.0 | VIC-LSM | NOT APPLICABLE | 1979-01-01 to Present |
N: 53 S: 25 E: -67 W: -125 |
0.125 Decimal Degrees x 0.125 Decimal Degrees | |
| NLDAS VIC Land Surface Model L4 Monthly Climatology 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NLDAS_VIC0125_MC) at GES DISC | 2.0 | VIC-LSM | NOT APPLICABLE | 1981-01-01 to 2020-12-31 |
N: 53 S: 25 E: -67 W: -125 |
0.125 Decimal Degrees x 0.125 Decimal Degrees | |
| NRT AMSR2 Unified L2B Half-Orbit 25 km EASE-Grid Surface Soil Moisture Beta V2 | 2 | GCOM-W1 | AMSR2 | 2018-04-11 |
N: 89.24 S: -89.24 E: 180 W: -180 |
netCDF-4 - HDF-EOS5 | |
| PALS/In Situ Multi-Campaign 800 m UTM Grid Brightness Temperature, Backscatter, and Soil Moisture Match-Up V001 | 1 | AIRCRAFT | PALS | 1999-07-08 to 1999-07-14 |
N: 35.21 S: 34.91 E: -97.83 W: -98.67 N: 41.99 S: 41.92 E: -93.4 W: -93.8 N: 39.09 S: 38.95 E: -75.54 W: -76.18 |
800 Meters x 800 Meters | ASCII |
| Post-fire Recovery of Soil Organic Layer Carbon in Canadian Boreal Forests, 2015-2018 | 1 | FIELD SURVEYS | VISUAL OBSERVATIONS, CHN ANALYZERS, CORING DEVICES | 2015-06-11 to 2018-08-24 |
N: 68.3256 S: 59.7883 E: -104.194 W: -132.671 |
CSV | |
| Pre-ABoVE: Active Layer Thickness and Soil Water Content, Barrow, Alaska, 2013 | 1 | FIELD INVESTIGATION, FIELD SURVEYS | Computer, GPR | 2013-08-10 to 2013-08-15 |
N: 71.388 S: 71.027 E: -155.772 W: -157.266 |
CSV | |
| Pre-LBA Anglo-Brazilian Amazonian Climate Observation Study (ABRACOS) Data | 1.1 | FIELD INVESTIGATION | PSYCHROMETERS, ANEMOMETERS | 1991-01-01 to 1996-12-31 |
N: 5 S: -18 E: -46 W: -75 |
CSV | |
| SAFARI 2000 Derived Soil Properties, 0.5-Deg (ISRIC-WISE) | 1 | FIELD INVESTIGATION | PH METERS | 1950-01-01 to 1995-12-31 |
N: 5 S: -35 E: 60 W: 5 |
multiple |
Featured Observation Method: SMAP
The Soil Moisture Active-Passive (SMAP) platform is a satellite that measures the surface moisture and freeze-thaw state of soil around the world approximately every three days. SMAP data contributes to understanding regional water cycles, ecosystem productivity, and natural processes involving water, energy, and carbon. SMAP's high-resolution data are helpful for weather, flood, and drought forecasting, and predicting agricultural productivity.
GIBS now has Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) layers available for soil moisture and temperature, snow mass, heterotrophic respiration, and more.
This webinar will compare sea surface salinity data collected by the Aquarius and SMAP missions. We will showcase data visualization and data access tools available through NASA's Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center.
NASA's SMAP team turns raw satellite data into more than a dozen data products for data users around the world.
9 MIN READ
Feature article describing NASA's SMAP mission and the roles that ASF DAAC will play with distributing the SAR data.
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