Benchmark data of root zone soil moisture over the conterminous USA based on vegetation-specific rooting depths

A newly developed benchmark dataset of root zone soil moisture (RZSM) at daily temporal resolution across the conterminous United States (CONUS) is presented. The dataset is compiled from in situ observations at 2,012 sites spanning 35 monitoring and data-aggregation networks and provides RZSM estimates for both a conventional fixed rooting depth (100 cm) and vegetation-specific rooting depths (D75, D90, and D95), corresponding to 75%, 90%, and 95% of cumulative root biomass, respectively. The data files are provided in CSV format. Each file contains seven columns: Date, Latitude, Longitude, vegetation type based on NLCD (VegetationType_NLCD), depth-averaged RZSM (DepthAvg_RZSM), soil moisture network name (Network), and site name (Site). The data files can be accessed using most text editors and spreadsheet software. Files corresponding to RZSM for D75, D90, D95, and the 100-cm depth are stored in folders named D75, D90, D95, and 100cm, respectively. All of these folders are contained within the main archive, RZSM_Data1.zip. Other than the RZSM data, the codes for the related analyses are contained in the folder Files_to_zenodo.zip. Two key scripts are included: (1) parameter_optimization_depthdecay_eq.ipynb, a Python notebook used for parameter optimization of the depth-decay equation, and (2) Depth_averaging.R, an R script used to perform depth-averaged soil moisture calculations to derive RZSM for D75, D90, and D95. The remaining plots and analyses presented in the paper involve general data analysis and visualization performed using R and Python are not included in the folder.