Soil water content and water salinity (DP1.00094.001)

Soil volumetric water content and an index of soil water ion content (salinity) are measured at various depths below the soil surface from approximately 6 cm down to 200 cm at non-permafrost sites (down to 300 cm at Alaskan sites). Soil moisture is an important component of the hydrologic cycle and is the dominant source of water for most plants and soil organisms making it a key indicator of drought. In addition, soil moisture status influences the severity of flooding and temperature extremes, as well as physical, chemical and biological processes in the soil. Measurements are made in vertical profiles consisting of up to eight depths in all five instrumented soil plots at each terrestrial site, and presented as 1-minute and 30-minute averages. Soil moisture sensors cannot accurately measure frozen water, therefore soil water content values will be absent or flagged if the soil was frozen or corresponding soil temperature data were not available to perform this test.

Latency:
Data collected in any given month are published during the second full week of the following month.

This data product is not currently available at the PUUM site (Hawaii) due to the initial soil characterization indicating the soil was too shallow to allow the standard sensor to be installed. An alternative sensor was installed, but it is not currently compatible with the data processing pipeline. Future upgrades to the data processing pipeline will allow the data product to be produced, including retroactively, but this is not expected to occur soon. In the interim, raw sensor data are available upon request via the NEON Contact Form, but have not undergone any quality control, quality assurance, or data flagging.