Document

Executive Summary: A Strategy for the National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network

Document Author

Executive Committee of the National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network

Document File

Executive Summary: A Strategy for the National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network (1.5 MB)

Document Date

June 8, 2021

Document Type

Reports

Document Description

This executive summary provides a brief overview of the National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network (NCSMMN) Strategy.

The NCSMMN is a collaborative effort among federal agencies, soil moisture scientists, state mesonet operators, and others to plan for and support nationally-coordinated soil moisture monitoring, data assimilation, and product development. As a key milestone of this effort, and in direct response to the requirement in the NIDIS Reauthorization Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-423) for a national soil moisture strategy, NIDIS and its partners prepared this document, with the goal of identifying a roadmap forward and the resources needed to implement a coordinated national network that will provide high-quality, nationwide soil moisture information for the public good.

The NCSMMN Strategy includes: a summary of current in situ networks, as well as remote sensing and modeling data resources; a discussion of network design considerations; guidance for in situ network installation and quality assurance/control; and considerations and recommendations for strategy implementation.