Soil Moisture Mapping Overview

Water is a critical resource, especially when it comes to the world's food supply. The ability to accurately and quickly map soil moisture on the scale of individual farms will go a long way to conserving this precious resource. NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission uses satellite technology to monitor drought, predict flooding, and assist in crop productivity. However, the nuances of the Earth's surface can easily be missed by satellite. Obtaining high resolution data in addition to the satellite images would greatly improve NASA's ability to track soil moisture along with providing valuable data to tomorrow's growers.

Beyond satellite calibration, several disciplines including agriculture, land management, emergency management, and military planning can benefit from the ability to determine the soil moisture content at high resolution. When provided with timely and accurate information, water is conserved and crop health is improved, land is more effectively used, and crises such as flash floods can be more accurately predicted and their effects mitigated. Current remote-sensing methods for sampling soil moisture often fail to provide measurements with adequate spatial and temporal resolution, or any indication of moisture content at typical root depths.