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Full catalog/AirMOSS_L1_Sigma0_Moisst_1413
AirMOSS_L1_Sigma0_Moisst_1413·v1·dataset

Airborne radar over a soil-moisture test site (P-band, 2012-2015)

AirMOSS: L1 S-0 Polarimetric Data from AirMOSS P-band SAR, MOISST, 2012-2015
land NASA ORNL_CLOUD Level 1A multiple
In plain English

What it measures. How strongly the land surface reflects radar signals over a soil-moisture test site in Oklahoma, captured at low (P-band) radar frequencies that can sense moisture down into the root zone.

How it's made. Flown on a NASA Gulfstream-III aircraft carrying the AirMOSS P-band radar at least twice a year from 2012 to 2015; this is calibrated, map-located Level 1 radar data.

How & where you'd use it. A lower-level input used by researchers to estimate root-zone soil moisture and study how it relates to carbon cycling across the landscape.

What's measured

SPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › RADAR › SIGMA NAUGHT

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2012-10-24 → 2015-08-14
  • Measured byUAV (UAVSAR)
  • Processing levelLevel 1A
  • Spatial extent-98.9968, 35.7758, -96.8247, 36.8893
  • Formatsmultiple
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Track deforestation, fire scars and land-cover change
  • Monitor crop and vegetation health (NDVI/EVI)
  • Map how built-up vs. green an area is over time
Official description

This data set provides level 1 (L1) polarimetric radar backscattering coefficient (sigma-0), multilook complex, polarimetrically calibrated, and georeferenced data products from the Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS) radar instrument collected over the MOISST site in Oklahoma. The AirMOSS radar is a P-band (UHF) fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) currently operating in the 420-440 MHz band designed to measure root-zone soil moisture (RZSM) and is flown on a NASA Gulfstream-III aircraft. Flight campaigns took place at least biannually from 2012 to 2015 at 10 study sites across North America. The acquired L1 P-band radar backscatter data will be used to retrieve the RZSM at the study sites. Subsequent analyses will investigate both seasonal and inter-annual variability in soil moisture and the relationships to carbon fluxes and their associated uncertainties on a continental scale.

Get the data

airmoss_l1_sigma0_moisst_1413_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="AirMOSS_L1_Sigma0_Moisst_1413",
    version="1",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from ORNL_CLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.