News
[2012-05-02] Updated data sets for "ICN" network
We detected a scaling error for "ORR" station of the Illinois Climate Network" (ICN), which was a factor 100 too low for the period 1998 to 2010. The dataset was reprocessed for this period. Users are encouraged too download the reprocessed dataset or multiply the old dataset with 100 for the corresponding time period. Details
[2012-04-19] New networks added: "VAS"
The datasets of the "Valencia Anchor Station" network was collected by the Climatology from Satellites Group and Jucar River Basin Authority in the University of Valencia. The network is located in Spain and consists 3 stations. The datasets are available from 2010-01-01 to 2012-01-01 The data sets were kindly provided by Ernesto lopez-Baeza and Amaparo Coll. Details
[2012-03-30] Updated datasets for "MetEROBS" network
The data sets of the Italian network "MetEROBS" were updated and the data availability is until 2012-03-20. Details
[2012-03-14] New networks added: "HYU_CHEONGMICHEON" and "HSC_SELMACHEON"
Both one-station networks are located in Korea. The data of "HYU_CHEONGMICHEON" were collected by the Water Resources & Remote Sensing Lab (WRRSL) in the Hanyang University and is available from 2008-01-01 to 2009-01-01. Details The data of "HSC_SELMACHEON" were collected by the Hydrological Survey Center (HSC) and WRRSL and are available for the period August - September 2011 Details. We would like to thank Minha Choi and Yeon gil Lee for granting access to the data.
[2012-03-13] Updated datasets for "SNOTEL" network
[2012-03-08] Updated datasets for "IIT_KANPUR" network
The data sets of the Indian network "IIT_KANPUR" were updated and the data availability is until 2011-12-31. Details
[2012-03-07] Updated datasets for "REMEDHUS" network
The data sets of the Spanish network "REMEDHUS" were updated. The time series of all Hydra-stations are now available until 2012-01-01.
Additionally there are now 23 stations, because one ("Las Tres Rayas") was reactivated. Details
[2012-02-14] New network added: "MetEROBS"
A new 1-station network from Central Italy has been added to the ISMN. This station is operated by the Met European Research OBServatory (MetEROBS). The data availability is from 2011-10-23 to 2012-01-12, providing measurements of soil moisture at 5 different depths. The data sets were kindly provided by Nazzareno Diodato. Details
[2012-02-02] New network added: "SNOTEL"
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has installed an extensive and automated system called SNOTEL (SNOwpack TELemetry) consisting of 381 stations that collect snowpack and related climatic data in the Western United States. The variables transferred to the ISMN are soil moisture, soil temperature, precipitation increment, snow water equivalent, snow depth, and air temperature. The measurement depths for soil moisture vary from 0.05 m to 1 m. The network is co-operated, maintained, and controlled by the NRCS and the National Water and Climate Center (NWCC). Access to the data sets was kindly provided by Michael Strobel and Garry Schaeffer. Details[2012-01-27] Updated data sets for "OZNET" network
[2012-01-21] Latest news for "OZNET" network
[2012-01-04] New section called "Publications" has been created
A new page was created on the web site where we collect all journal articles making use of data from the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN). If you have written any article yourself that is not in the list, please let us know and we will include it. Details
[2012-01-04] Updated data sets for "UDC_SMOS" network
The data sets for seven stations of the German UDC_SMOS network have been updated for the last time (until October 2011). Unfortunately, all stations were dismantled in November 2011 so soil moisture measurement will no longer be continued. Thanks to LMU University of Munich for the pleasant cooperation and the valuable data sets! Details
[2011-12-28] Updated data set for "OZNET" network
The data sets of the 38 stations of the australian "OZNET" Network have been updated and some old measurements have been corrected and replaced. The data availability is until 31 May 2011. Details
[2011-12-20] New network added: "SCAN"
The Soil Climate Analysis Network contains 187 stations, mainly over the US (including stations in Alaska and Hawaii), but also in Puerto Rico and even one on Antarctica. Apart from soil moisture and soil temperature, precipitation and air temperature are measured at most of the stations. Some stations also perform measurements of snow depth and snow water equivalent. The measuring depths for soil moisture differ from 0.02 to 2 m, usually split up over 5 different depth intervals. Almost 150 stations are updated automatically on daily basis. The network is operated by the USDA NRCS National Water and Climate Center with assistance from the USDA NRCS National Soil Survey Center. We would like thank Garry Schaeffer, Michael Strobel, Maggie Dunklie (all USDA NRCS), and Michael Cosh and Robert Parry (USDA-ARS) for their assistance with the near-real time implementation. Details
[2011-12-16] Updates for "CNR-IRPI" network:
[2011-12-07] New network added: "COSMOS"
This network currently consists of 50 stations spread over 6 countries (mainly USA) and is expected to grow considerably within the next two years. The datasets are updated in ISMN on a daily basis. Measurements of soil moisture are being employed since mid 2009 within the COSMOS Project lead by the University of Arizona. The innovative and non invasive measurement concept is based on the interaction between the incoming cosmic-rays and the atmospheric particles, producing cascades of cosmic protons and fast neutrons. After interacting with the soil, some of the particles escape back into the air and are counted by a neutron detector. The amount of fast neutrons detected is inversely related to soil water content. One of the most striking differences between this methodology and more conventional techniques is the effective sampled area (diameter of several hectometers) and the depth interval represented by the measurement (up to several decimeters), which vary with soil water content. Thus, measurements represent an intermediate level of spatial representativeness between in-situ contact probes and satellite observations. The data were kindly shared with the ISMN by Marek Zreda. Details
[2011-11-03] New network added: "HYDROL-NET_PERUGIA"
This 1-station network near the city of Perugia, Central Italy, is operated by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Perugia since the beginning of 2010. The station called WEEF (Water Engineering Experimental Field) provides measurements of soil moisture at 4 different depths, soil temperature at 2 depths, precipitation, and air temperature. The data sets were kindly provided by Alessia Flammini and Renato Morbidelli. Details
[2011-10-25] New network added: "IIT_KANPUR"
We are happy to welcome the first network from South Asia! The single station network managed by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur provides of soil moisture data of 4 different depths. It started operation only very recently. The data sets currently contained in the ISMN span the period June-October 2011. The data were kindly provided by Pankaj Kumar Rai and Shivam Tripathi of ITT Kanpur. Details
[2011-10-24] New network added: "MAQU"
The 20 stations of the MAQU network are located at the Eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau in Central China at an altitude of more than 3000 m .a.s.l. This makes the network very interesting for studying soil moisture dynamics in high altitude and cold regions. The stations are operated by University of Twente, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), and the Chinese Academy of Science - Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (CAS-CAREERI). Current data availability is from July 2008 until July 2010. The datasets were kindly provided by Laura Dente and Bob Su from the ITC and J. Wen of the CAS. Details
[2011-10-18] Updates for "SMOSMANIA" network
All datasets (21 stations, each measuring at 4 depths) of the French "SMOSMANIA" network have been updated until 31 December 2010.
[2011-09-26] Important notification regarding CEOP standard output format
Recent experience has shown that the standard CEOP data format is not able to deal with the complexity of our data sets. In some cases (e.g., when more than one sensor measures soil moisture at the same depth) this leads to a mixing up of the output data. It is therefore recommended to no longer use the official "CEOP Reference Site Data Format" and switch to one of the other two available formats (i.e. "Variables stored in separate files (CEOP formatted)" or " Variables stored in separate files (Header+values)"). The CEOP Reference format will be discontinued in the near future.
[2011-09-26] New network added: "USDA-ARS"
This network contains soil moisture and soil temperature data of the US Department of Agriculture watershed networks Little River (Georgia), Little Washita(Oklahoma), Walnut Gulch (Arizona) and Reynolds Creek (Idaho). Each watershed networks is made up of 16 to 29 stations spread over an area of a few hundred square kilometers. Currently, the ISMN distributes only the arithmetical average and area weighted average of the stations contained within each watershed, but an inclusion of the data of the single stations is foreseen for the near future. The data are available for the period June 2002 - July 2009. The data sets were kindly provided by Michael Cosh and Thomas Jackson of USDA. Details
[2011-09-26] New network added: "AMERIFLUX"
AMERIFLUX is the North-American contribution to the global FLUXNET. At this moment two sites close to Sacramento, CA are distributed through the ISMN. Both stations provide soil moisture measurements at eight different depths down to 0.60 m. Additionally, soil temperature, air temperature, and precipitation are provided. The datasets cover the period 2000-10-22 to 2011-01-01. The data sets were kindly provided by Dennis Baldocchi and Siyan Ma of University of California, Berkeley. Details
[2011-09-26] New network added: "ARM"
This network in the U.S. consists of 25 stations, mostly located in Oklahoma and Kansas. The stations measure soil moisture and soil temperature at many depth levels between 0.05 to 1.75 m. Several meteorological data are provided as well. The data sets are available from 1996 to present. The site is managed by U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility. Data access was kindly provided by Jim Mather. Details
[2011-09-26] New stations added to "SWEX_Poland"
Four new stations were added to the Polish network SWEX_POLAND. At each station soil moisture and soil temperature are being measured at two different depths while at each depth observations are made by 4 different loggers. Data are available from 2008 until August 2011. The data were provided by Wojciech Skierucha of the Institute of Agrophysics of the Polish Academy of Science, Lublin, Poland. Details
[2011-05-30] Publication on the ISMN in HESS
The final version of technical implementation paper of the ISMN and the networks currently contained in the database is now available on Hydrology and Earth System Sciences: Download article
Please, refer to this paper (in addition to the official references of the data providing networks) if you use any of the ISMN data in your publications.
[2011-05-01] Publication on the ISMN in EOS Transactions AGU
A publication on the background and rationale of the ISMN has been published in EOS Transactions AGU: Download article
[2011-04-28] New network added: "AMMA"
With AMMA, the first network in Africa has been implemented. It consists of three supersites in Benin, Niger and Mali. Together their datasets cover a timespan from 2005-01-01 to 2009-12-30. Soil moisture is measured in up to six layers from 5cm to 1.20m. Partwise multiple measurements are taking place very close together at the top, middle and bottom of dune slopes or from a plateau to the valley bottom.
[2011-04-05] New network added: "FMI"
The finnish network "FMI" includes one station that contains multiple soil moisture measurements in 2cm and 10cm depth, taken only a few meters next to each other. Additionaly air temperature is measured in 2m height and soil temperature in 2cm depth. The datasets start at 2007-01-25 and are updated once a day. The FMI is the first network that has been implemented with data updates in Near Real Time.
[2011-03-15] Updated dataset for "SMOSMANIA" network
Nine new stations were added to the French network "SMOSMANIA". Similar to the previous stations soil moisture data are provided at 4 different layers. For the new stations measurements from 2009-01-01 to 2010-01-01 are available at the ISMN.
[2011-03-09] Updated dataset for "REMEDHUS" network
The data sets for 19 stations of the Spanish network "REMEDHUS" were updated. Soil moisture and soil temperature time series are now available until 2010-12-31.
One station of the REMEDHUS network was dedected to be located at a wrong position, now the station "Carretoro" (abbreviation "K10") was moved to the right coordinates.
[2011-02-10] Updated datasets for "UDC_SMOS" network
The data sets for eight stations of the German Network "UDC_SMOS" were updated. The soil moisture time series are now available until 2010-12-31.
[2011-02-03] Publication on the ISMN in HESSD
A publication on the technical implementation of the ISMN and the networks currently contained in the database is now available on Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussion: http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci-discuss.net/8/1609/2011/hessd-8-1609-2011.html
Please, from now on cite this paper (in addition to the official references of the data providing networks) if you use any of the ISMN data in your publications.
[2011-02-02] Data server running again
The hardware problems have been resolved.
[2011-01-31] Data server currently down
Due to a hardware failure we had to switch off the data server. We expect to be up and running again in the course of tomorrow (1 February 2011).
[2011-01-21] New network added: "UMSUOL"
The station of this italian network is situated in the north of Italy, close to the city Bologna. Soil moisture measurements at seven different depths are provided by the Agenzia Regionale Prevenzione Ambiente, abbreviated ARPA. Data spanning the period from 2009-06 to 2010-09-30 were inserted into the ISMN.
[2011-01-19] New network added: "SWEX_POLAND"
This polish network is located southeast of the city Warsaw and consists of two stations. Soil moisture and soil temperature measurements are available at eight different layers. The measurements span the period from 2006-08-03 to 2010-01-03.
[2011-01-14] New network added: "MOL-RAO"
The soil moisture network of the German Meteorological Service is situated near the city Berlin in the northeast of Germany. The two stations of this network provide volumetric soil moisture, soil temperature, air temperature and precipitation for the period 2003 to 2008. Soil moisture measurements at 6 different layers, up to a depth of 90 cm, are collected.
[2010-12-17] New network added: "UDC_SMOS"
Soil moisture datasets of 11 stations near the city Munich in Germany are provided. The measurements are taken at five different layers up to a depth of 40 cm. At some stations soil moisture of a specific layer is measured by multiple sensors. All stations of this network are situated on grassland.
[2010-12-10] Soil moisture data are now presented in [m3/m3]
Following extensive consultation with the soil moisture community, and to avoid any ambiguity, from now on we provide soil moisture as volumetric fraction [m3/m3] instead of volumetric percent [%]. Hence, all datasets in the ISMN were converted to the new unit. Datasets that were downloaded earlier should be divided by 100 to convert them into volumetric fraction [m3/m3].
[2010-11-10] Updated datasets for "OZNET" network
The data sets of the australian network "OZNET" were updated. The time series of the Murrumbidgee catchment are now available until 2010-08-31.
[2010-10-12] New network added: "RUSWET-VALDAI"
The last network from the Global Soil Moisture Data Bank was transfered into the ISMN: "RUSWET-VALDAI". For three stations soil moisture data sets from 1960 to 1990 at 3 layers are available. One station provides soil temperature, air temperature and precipitation.
[2010-09-27] New network added: "RUSWET-AGRO"
The russian network "RUSWET-AGRO" published at the Global Soil Moisture Data Bank has been added to the ISMN. The 78 stations provide soil moisture measurements at a depth of 0.20 m and 1 m for the period 1986-1988.
[2010-09-22] New network added: "IOWA"
The six stations of this network are situated in the south west of Iowa in the United States. The historical dataset was part of the Global Soil Moisture Data Bank and represents measurements from 1972 to 1994, April until November. Soil moisture information at 12 layers up to a depth of 2.59m is available.
[2010-08-11] New network added: "MONGOLIA"
Another network was transfered from the Global Soil Moisture Data Bank into the ISMN: "MONGOLIA". 44 stations provide soil moisture data from 1964 to 2002 during the warm period of the year, which runs from April until October. Measurements in depth intervals of 10 cm are available up to a depth of 1 m.
[2010-08-09] New network added: "RUSWET-GRASS"
The historical dataset "RUSWET-GRASS", containing soil moisture data of 122 stations spread over the Former Soviet Union has been added to the ISMN. This network combines the two datasets RUSWET-GRASS-50STA and RUSWET-GRASS-130STA of the Global Soil Moisture Data Bank by Alan Robock and Konstantin Vinnikov. Some stations provide soil moisture measurements taken at a depth of 1 m for the period 1952-1985. For the period 1977 to 1985 measurements of the upper 10 cm soil layer are available.
[2010-07-23] Updated datasets for "SMOSMANIA" network
The data sets for all stations of the French Network "SMOSMANIA" were updated. Measurements now span the time period 2007-01-01 to 2009-12-31.
[2010-07-22] New Italian network added: "CAMPANIA"
The two stations of the Campania network are located near the city Naples in the south of Italy and is managed by the "Centro Funzionale per la Previsione Meteorologica e il Monitoraggio Meteo-Pluvio-Idrometrico e delle Frane". The ISMN contains data from the operational start in 2000 until the end of 2008. The data sets include soil moisture measured at a depth of 0.30 m, precipitation, and air temperature.
[2010-06-21] Cooperation between International Soil Moisture Network and Global Soil Moisture Data Bank
The reknown Global Soil Moisture Data Bank, initiated by Alan Robock and Konstantin Vinnikov and hosted by Rutgers University, and the International Soil Moisture Network decided to join forces. One by one the valuable historic soil moisture data sets contained in the Global Soil Moisture Data Bank [http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/soil_moisture/] will be transfered into the ISMN. Up to date, two networks have been added to the ISMN: the historical soil moisture datasets of the "Illinois Climate Network" (ICN) as a part of the Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Program [WARM, http://www.isws.illinois.edu/warm/] of the Illinois State Water Survey, and the historical datasets of a Chinese Soil Moisture network ran by the Department of Hydrology from the Institute for Geograpy at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.
[2010-06-18] New soil characteristics available
In addition to dynamic soil characteristics like soil moisture, soil temperature, and soil suction or additional dynamic parameters like precipitation and air temperature, static soil characteristics are now included in the ISMN. If static variables exist for a station, they are written to a textfile which is appended to the zip archive generated for the data download. Up to now static soil characteristics of the following networks are available:
Illinois Climate Network:
Wilting Points [% vol], Field Capacity [% vol] and Potential Plant Available Water [% vol] at 11 depth levels for each station
Chinese Soil Moisture Network:
Wilting Points [% vol] at 11 depth levels for each station
[2010-05-14] Article "New global network validates SMOS soil moisture data"
A news story on the International Soil Moisture Network has been published on the ESA SMOS and Living Planet web portals [http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/smos/SEM9UI19Y8G_0.html]
[2010-03-30] New Italian network added: "CNR-IRPI"