Soil Water Content 1000 m

Planet — version 5.0 (November 2023)

Description

This dataset quantifies soil water content (m³/m³) at 1000 m spatial resolution. Data has global coverage and sub-weekly resolution, available from 2002 onwards. Data includes includes pixel-level quality flags to indicate whether an observation has been critically flagged or not.

Dataset ID
667729d4
Category
Soil moisture
Type
Raster
CRS
EPSG:4326
Spatial coverage
Global
Spatial resolution
1 km
Temporal coverage
2002+
Temporal resolution
Sub-weekly

Usage notes

New time points are delivered near real-time. Soil water content is delivered in three variables, one for each radar frequency band used to measure it (L-band, C-band, X-band). Actual temporal coverage differs among variables due to differences in satellite data coverage. Actual temporal resolution varies depending on satellite pass rate. Unreliable values are critically flagged but may still be inaccurate in urban areas, near dynamic water bodies, and on slopes > 20º.

Variables

l_value

TypeNumberUnitsm³/m³

Description

The total amount of water in the soil, as measured using the L-band (1.4 GHz) of the SMAP satellite. The L-band has a sensing depth of ~5 cm, is sensitive to change, and is insensitive to vegetation density.

Usage notes

Overall reported accuracy is ± 0.04 m³/m³. Temporal resolution varies between 137 and 228 observations per year depending on AOI latitude. Temporal coverage is from 2015 onwards, with data gaps between 2019-06-19 and 2019-07-24, 2022-08-05 and 2022-09-24, and 2022-11-16 and 2022-11-18. On each date, observations are at 6:00 am local solar time.

l_critically_flagged

TypeInteger

Description

Indicates whether L value has been critically flagged.

Usage notes

A pixel is critically flagged if input data is absent or unreliable, instrument flaws are detected, there is human radio frequency interference, values are out of range (< 0 m³/m³ or > 1 m³/m³) or identified as statistical outliers, or measurements are taken on frozen soil, during severe precipitation events, or in dense vegetation or open water. Non-critical flags are not delivered.

IndexName
0Not critically flagged
1Critically flagged

c_value

TypeNumberUnitsm³/m³

Description

The total amount of water in the soil, as measured using the C-band (6.9 GHz) of the AMSR-E and AMSR-2 satellite instruments. The C-band has a sensing depth of ~2 cm and is sensitive to vegetation density, so is suited to use cases in short vegetation.

Usage notes

Overall reported accuracy is ± 0.05 m³/m³. Temporal resolution varies between 205 and 292 observations per year depending on AOI latitude. Temporal coverage is from 2002 with a data gap between 2011-10-04 to 2012-07-05. Coverage is split between AMSR-E and AMSR-2 instruments (AMSR-E for 2002-2011 and AMSR-2 for 2012 onwards), so we recommend checking for consistency across the full time series. On each date, observations are at 1:30 am local solar time.

c_critically_flagged

TypeInteger

Description

Indicates whether C value has been critically flagged.

Usage notes

A pixel is critically flagged if input data is absent or unreliable, instrument flaws are detected, there is human radio frequency interference, values are out of range (< 0 m³/m³ or > 1 m³/m³) or identified as statistical outliers, or measurements are taken on frozen soil, during severe precipitation events, or in dense vegetation or open water. Non-critical flags are not delivered.

IndexName
0Not critically flagged
1Critically flagged

x_value

TypeNumberUnitsm³/m³

Description

The total amount of water in the soil, as measured using the X-band (10.7 GHz) of the AMSR-E and AMSR-2 satellite instruments. The X-band has a sensing depth of ~1 cm and is sensitive to vegetation density, so is suited to use cases in short vegetation.

Usage notes

Overall reported accuracy is ± 0.05 m³/m³. Temporal resolution varies between 205 and 292 observations per year depending on AOI latitude. Temporal coverage is from 2002 with a data gap between 2011-10-04 to 2012-07-05. Coverage is split between AMSR-E and AMSR-2 instruments (AMSR-E for 2002-2011 and AMSR-2 for 2012 onwards), so we recommend checking for consistency across the full time series. On each date, observations are at 1:30 am local solar time.

x_critically_flagged

TypeInteger

Description

Indicates whether X value has been critically flagged.

Usage notes

A pixel is critically flagged if input data is absent or unreliable, instrument flaws are detected, there is human radio frequency interference, values are out of range (< 0 m³/m³ or > 1 m³/m³) or identified as statistical outliers, or measurements are taken on frozen soil, during severe precipitation events, or in dense vegetation or open water. Non-critical flags are not delivered.

IndexName
0Not critically flagged
1Critically flagged

Pricing

This dataset adds a new time point every sub-weekly. A data request returns the full archive up to the most recent time point and creates a one-year subscription to future time points. Data acquisition costs are per hectare:

VolumePrice
Any$0.40 / ha

Resources

Provider

Planet

www.planet.com

Planet is an Earth imaging company based in San Francisco (US). Planet aims to image the Earth daily and support change analysis. Planet offers several products, ranging from satellite imaging to derived scientific data.

Planet - Soil Water Content 1000 m