Developing a strategy for the national coordinated soil moisture monitoring network

Authors

Michael H. Cosh, USDA-ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing LaboratoryFollow
Todd G. Caldwell, USGS, Nevada Water Science Center
C. Bruce Baker, NOAA, Air Resources Lab., Oak Ridge, TN
John D. Bolten, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Nathan Edwards, South Dakota State University
Peter Goble, Colorado State University
Heather Hofman, USDA-NRCS, National Water and Climate Center
Tyson E. Ochsner, Oklahoma State University
Steven Quiring, The Ohio State University
Charles Schalk, USGS, Hydrologic Networks Branch, Augusta, ME
Marina Skumanich, NOAA, National Integrated Drought Information System
Mark D. Svoboda, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Mary E. Woloszyn, NOAA, National Integrated Drought Information System

ORCID IDs

Michael H. Cosh https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4776-1918

Todd G. Caldwell https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4068-0648

Tyson E. Ochsner https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0875-4491

Steven Quiring https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3287-5242

Charles Schalk https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1386-1603

Mark Svoboda https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7926-0742

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2021

Citation

Vadose Zone J. 2021;e20139.

https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20139

Comments

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License

Abstract

Soil moisture is a critical land surface variable, affecting a wide variety of climatological, agricultural, and hydrological processes. Determining the current soil moisture status is possible via a variety of methods, including in situ monitoring, remote sensing, and numerical modeling. Although all of these approaches are rapidly evolving, there is no cohesive strategy or framework to integrate these diverse information sources to develop and disseminate coordinated national soil moisture products that will improve our ability to understand climate variability. The National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network initiative has developed a national strategy for network coordination with NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System. The strategy is currently in review within NOAA, and work is underway to implement the initial milestones of the strategy. This update reviews the goals and steps being taken to establish this national-scale coordination for soil moisture monitoring in the United States.