Earth System Science Data | 2021
COSMOS-UK: national soil moisture and hydrometeorology data for environmental science research
Abstract
Abstract. The COSMOS-UK observation network has been providing\nfield-scale soil moisture and hydrometeorological measurements across the UK\nsince 2013. At the time of publication a total of 51 COSMOS-UK sites have\nbeen established, each delivering high-temporal resolution data in near-real\ntime. Each site utilizes a cosmic-ray neutron sensor, which counts\nepithermal neutrons at the land surface. These measurements are used to\nderive field-scale near-surface soil water content, which can provide unique\ninsight for science, industry, and agriculture by filling a scale gap\nbetween localized point soil moisture and large-scale satellite soil\nmoisture datasets. Additional soil physics and meteorological measurements\nare made by the COSMOS-UK network including precipitation, air temperature,\nrelative humidity, barometric pressure, soil heat flux, wind speed and\ndirection, and components of incoming and outgoing radiation. These\nnear-real-time observational data can be used to improve the performance of\nhydrological models, validate remote sensing products, improve\nhydro-meteorological forecasting, and underpin applications across a range of\nother scientific fields. The most recent version of the COSMOS-UK dataset is\npublically available at https://doi.org/10.5285/b5c190e4-e35d-40ea-8fbe-598da03a1185 \n(Stanley et al., 2021).