Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN)

The Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) was developed to provide near real-time soil-climate information for natural resource planning, drought assessment, and water resource management. Remotely located stations collect atmospheric measurements along with soil moisture and soil temperature. All stations have full soil survey characterization information, as well. This unique network utilizes meteor burst communications technology to provide data in near real-time. Hourly data from this network is quickly made available to the public via the Internet. Currently the network has 111 stations located in 39 states. Most stations have been installed since 1999, following the completion of a 10-year soil moisture/soil temperature pilot project. Station data includes monthly soil moisture, soil temperature, and atmospheric measurements.