Author(s): Larson K
Site ID: XX-PTr
Site Name: Pantropical site
Variables: Soil water content (saturation)
Date Range: Feb. 1, 2013 - Dec. 31, 2016
Description: The 2015–2016 El Niño event ranks as one of the most severe on record in terms of the magnitude and extent of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies generated in the tropical Pacific Ocean. This data was used to investigate changes in soil moisture to better understand how it is impacted by climate anomalies during an El Niño event. This dataset contains daily data that has been processed to monthly from February 2013 to December 2016. Data represents near-surface soil moisture (depth of 0-10 cm) at a latitude of 17.90 N, and longitude of -71.67 E. Data was downloaded from the PBO soil moisture data network and is publicly available at http://cires1.colorado.edu/portal/index.php?product=soil_moisture. Data from this site is referenced as Dominican Republic (2) in Table 1 and Figure 4 of Solander et al.: The pantropical response of soil moisture to El Niño, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2303–2322, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2303-2020, 2020.
QA/QC: Full QA-QC
Methods Description: The Global Positioning System continuously transmits L-band signals (wavelengths of 19 and 24.4 cm) to support real-time navigation users. These same signals are being tracked by networks of high-precision GPS instruments that were installed by geophysicists and geodesists to measure plate tectonics. These networks exist at both the global and regional scale and data are freely available. One of the error sources for geodetic and geophysical users of GPS data is reflected signals. The GPS Reflections Research Group used the reflected signals captured by these GPS networks to measure environmental parameters, including near-surface soil moisture, snow cover, and vegetation. For most sites the footprint of the method is ~20 meter in radius, which complements small-scale in situ sensors and large-scale satellite methods. For more information about the data, please visit http://cires1.colorado.edu/portal/index.php.
Access Level: Public
Originating Institution(s): University of Colorado
Sponsor Organization(s): UNAVCO, University of Colorado [NSF ATM 0740515 (CU)] and NSF ATM 0740498 (UCAR)
Contact: Solander, Kurt - Los Alamos National Laboratory (ksolander@lanl.gov)
Version: 1.0
Dataset Citation: Larson K (2020): Soil Water Content (m3 m-3) located in the Dominican Republic , February 2013 - December 2016. 1.0. NGEE Tropics Data Collection. (dataset). http://dx.doi.org/10.15486/ngt/1616722
Acknowledgement: None
Data Link: Download Dataset
Larson, Kristine & Small, Eric & Gutmann, Ethan & Bilich, Andria & Braun, John & Zavorotny, Valery & Larson, Citation. (2008). Use of GPS receivers as a soil moisture network for water cycle studies. Geophysical Research Letters - GEOPHYS RES LETT. 35. 10.1029/2008GL036013.
