Other Names
None
Definition
Average layer soil moisture is the depth-averaged amount of water present in a specific soil layer beneath the surface. Soil moisture content can be measured by Gravimetric Soil Moisture (GSM). It is the mass of water compared to the mass of solid materials per unit volume of soil. Soil moisture can also be expressed in Volumetric Soil Moisture (VSM) which is the volume of water per unit volume of soil. As water is of a known density, the mass of water per unit volume of soil (g/cm^3) can be easily determined.
In the Land Data Assimilation Systems (LDAS), the number of vertical levels for soil moisture is model specific. Please follow the table below for the correct depths of soil layers.
| Model | Vertical Layers |
CLM (10 layers) | 0-0.018, 0.018-0.045, 0.045-0.091, 0.091-0.166, 0.166-0.289, 0.289-0.493, 0.493-0.829, 0.829-1.383, 1.383-2.296, and 2.296-3.433 m. |
| Mosaic (3 layers) | 0-0.02,0.02-1.50, and 1.5-3.50 m. |
| Noah (4 layers) | 0-0.1, 0.1-0.4, 0.4-1.0, and 1.0-2.0 m. |
| VIC (3 layers) | 0-0.1, 0.1-1.6, and 1.6-1.9 m. |
Applications
- Evaporation and runoff modeling
- Agriculture issues
- Water cycle
- Energy cycle
- Weather forecast
- Climate prediction model
GES DISC Datasets
To access products that have a specific parameter click on the corresponding 'data access' links in the table below.
Other sources for data
- GLDAS
- NWS CPC
- GSMDB
- GMAO
Atmos Composition
