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Data for new versions of SMAP Level-1, -2, and -3 data sets are currently available from 27 August 2020 onward. Data since 31 March 2015 will become available as they are reprocessed.
Antenna scan angle (ASA) errors affected a large number of data files between 05 Oct and 23 Nov 2019, as well as a handful of dates within 2020 (04 and 05 Feb, 09 Apr, 30 May, and 18 Jun). The bad data are not currently identified by data quality flags. The ASA errors disrupt the proper geolocation of half-orbits, which may be off by as much as 99 km in the along scan direction. The affected half-orbits are in the Version 5 SPL1BTB product (specifically half-orbits 24977.5 - 25691, 26765 - 26781, 27709 - 27713, 28458~28459, and 28733.5 – 28739.5), but the most recent version of all upstream products are similarly impacted. The cause of the ASA errors has been identified and all affected products will be reprocessed. This reprocessing is scheduled to begin in March, 2021.
Data Set ID: 
SPL2SMP_E

SMAP Enhanced L2 Radiometer Half-Orbit 9 km EASE-Grid Soil Moisture, Version 4

This enhanced Level-2 (L2) product contains calibrated, geolocated, brightness temperatures acquired by the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) radiometer during 6:00 a.m. descending and 6:00 p.m. ascending half-orbit passes. This product is derived from SMAP Level-1B (L1B) interpolated antenna temperatures. Backus-Gilbert optimal interpolation techniques are used to extract maximum information from SMAP antenna temperatures and convert them to brightness temperatures, which are posted to the 9 km Equal-Area Scalable Earth Grid, Version 2.0 (EASE-Grid 2.0) in a global cylindrical projection [available as the SPl1CTB_E product]. These 9-km brightness temperatures are then used to retrieve surface soil moisture posted on the 9-km grid [this SPL2SMP_E product].

This is the most recent version of these data.

Version Summary: 

Changes to this version include:
- Improved calibration methodology was applied to the Level-1B radiometer brightness temperatures.
- Improved land surface model outputs from the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) were used to estimate the effective soil temperature used as input to Level-2 soil moisture geophysical inversion. This effective soil temperature is not to be confused with the physical soil temperature at a given depth (Choudhury et al., 1982).
- Improved retrieval performance of DCA (formerly known as MDCA or "the option 3" option algorithm in previous releases). DCA retrieves both soil moisture and vegetation optical depth (VOD or tau).
- Use of a new global 250-meter resolution soils database called SoilGrid250m available at https://openlandmap.org. Work is underway to address limited spatial anomalies of these soil property estimates at high latitudes over areas rich in organic soils.
- Data quality flags were updated and corrected where faulty.
- The baseline algorithm (SCA-V) remains unchanged.

For the full major and minor version history, go to https://nsidc.org/data/smap/data_versions.

COMPREHENSIVE Level of Service

Data: Data integrity and usability verified; data customization services available for select data

Documentation: Key metadata and comprehensive user guide available

User Support: Assistance with data access and usage; guidance on use of data in tools and data customization services

See All Level of Service Details

Parameter(s):
  • MICROWAVE > BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE
  • SOILS > SOIL MOISTURE/WATER CONTENT > SURFACE SOIL MOISTURE
Data Format(s):
  • HDF5
Spatial Coverage:
N: 85.044, 
S: -85.044, 
E: 180, 
W: -180
Platform(s):SMAP
Spatial Resolution:
  • 9 km x 9 km
Sensor(s):SMAP L-BAND RADIOMETER
Temporal Coverage:
  • 31 March 2015
Version(s):V4
Temporal Resolution49 minuteMetadata XML:View Metadata Record
Data Contributor(s):O'Neill, P. E., S. Chan, E. G. Njoku, T. Jackson, R. Bindlish, and J. Chaubell.

Geographic Coverage
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Download Via HTTPS: An Earthdata Login account is required to access these data.

Once you have logged in, you will be able to click and download files via a Web browser. There are also options for downloading via a command line or client. For more detailed instructions, please see Options Available for Bulk Downloading Data from HTTPS with Earthdata Login.

Earthdata Search: This application allows you to search, visualize, and access data across thousands of Earth science data sets. Additional customization services are available for select data sets, including subsetting, reformatting, and reprojection.

Worldview: This application allows you to interactively browse global satellite imagery within hours of it being acquired. You can also save it, share it, and download the underlying data.

Subscription Service: Subscribe to have new data automatically delivered to you as they become available at NSIDC. Subscriptions apply only to future data as they are delivered to NSIDC; they cannot be used to receive data already in NSIDC's archive.

As a condition of using these data, you must cite the use of this data set using the following citation. For more information, see our Use and Copyright Web page.

O'Neill, P. E., S. Chan, E. G. Njoku, T. Jackson, R. Bindlish, and J. Chaubell. 2020. SMAP Enhanced L2 Radiometer Half-Orbit 9 km EASE-Grid Soil Moisture, Version 4. [Indicate subset used]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. doi: https://doi.org/10.5067/Q8J8E3A89923. [Date Accessed].

Literature Citation

As a condition of using these data, we request that you acknowledge the author(s) of this data set by referencing the following peer-reviewed publication.

  • Chan, S., R. Bindlish, P. E. O'Neill, T. Jackson, E. G. Njoku, S. Dunbar, J. Chaubell, J. R. Piepmeier, S. Yueh, D. Entekhabi, A. Colliander, F. Chen, M. Cosh, T. Caldwell, J. Walker, A. Berg, H. McNairn, M. Thibeault, J. Martinez-Fernandez, F. Uldall, M. Seyfried, D. Bosch, P. Starks, C. H. Collins, J. Prueger, R. Van der Velde, J. Asanuma, M. Palecki, E. E. Small, M. Zreda, J. Calvet, W. T. Crow, and Y. Kerr. 2018. Development and assessment of the SMAP enhanced passive soil moisture product, Remote Sensing of the Environment. 204. 931–941. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2017.08.025

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How To

Programmatic Data Access Guide
Data from the NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC) can be accessed directly from our HTTPS file system or through our Application Programming Interface (API). Our API offers you the ability to order data using specific temporal and spatial filters... read more
How to import and geolocate SMAP Level-1C and Level-2 data in ENVI
The following are instructions on how to import and geolocate SMAP Level-1C HDF5 data in ENVI. Testing notes Software: ENVI Software version: 5.3 and above. If using version 5.3, service pack 5.3.1 is needed.  Platform: Windows 7 Data set: SMAP L1C... read more
How do I interpret the surface and quality flag information in the Level-2 and -3 passive soil moisture products?
SMAP data files contain rich quality information that can be useful for many data users. The retrieval quality flag and surface flag bit values and interpretations are documented in the respective product Data Fields pages: Level-2 soil moisture product (SPL2SMP)... read more
Visualize NSIDC data as WMS layers with ArcGIS and Google Earth
NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) provides up to date, full resolution imagery for selected NSIDC DAAC data sets. ... read more
Search, order, and customize NSIDC DAAC data with NASA Earthdata Search
NASA Earthdata Search is a map-based interface where a user can search for Earth science data, filter results based on spatial and temporal constraints, and order data with customizations including re-formatting, re-projecting, and spatial and parameter subsetting. Thousands of Earth science data... read more
Filter and order from a data set web page
Many NSIDC data set web pages provide the ability to search and filter data with spatial and temporal contstraints using a map-based interface. This article outlines how to order NSIDC DAAC data using advanced searching and filtering.  Step 1: Go to a data set web page This article will use the... read more
Visualize and download NSIDC DAAC data with NASA Worldview
NASA Worldview uses the Global Imagery Browse Service (GIBS) to provide up to date, full resolution imagery for select NSIDC DAAC data sets (see attachments below). The map interface allows users to... read more
NSIDC DAAC Data Subscription Requests
This page explains the information we need to process your subscription request. If you are interested in setting up a data subscription, please send a request with the Required fields indicated below to... read more

FAQ

What are the latencies for SMAP radiometer data sets?
The following table describes both the required and actual latencies for the different SMAP radiometer data sets. Latency is defined as the time (# days, hh:mm:ss) from data acquisition to product generation. Short name Title Latency Required Actual (mean1) SPL1AP SMAP L1A... read more
What data subsetting, reformatting, and reprojection services are available for SMAP data?
The following table describes the data subsetting, reformatting, and reprojection services that are currently available for SMAP data via the NASA Earthdata Search tool and a Data Subscription... read more
Why don't the SMAP enhanced soil moisture products include landcover class?
While the standard SMAP Level-2 and -3 radiometer soil moisture products* contain landcover_class and landcover_class_fraction in the data files, the enhanced soil moisture products** do not. This is because the landcover class ancillary data are not available at the 9 km grid posting that the... read more
How are the enhanced SMAP radiometer products generated and what are the benefits of using these products?
There is considerable overlap of the SMAP radiometer footprints, or Instantaneous Fields of View (IFOVs), which are defined by the contours where the sensitivity of the antenna has fallen by 3db from its maximum. The IFOVs are spaced about 11 km apart in the along scan direction with scan lines... read more
How do I convert an HDF5/HDF-EOS5 file into binary format?
To convert HDF5 files into binary format you will need to use the h5dump utility, which is part of the HDF5 distribution available from the HDF Group. How you install HDF5 depends on your operating system. Full instructions for installing and using h5dump on Mac/Unix and... read more
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