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Dear Subscriber,
Welcome to our bi-annual newsletter, the first for the year 2025! We are excited to share the latest updates and news with you.
In this edition:
We are delighted to announce the inclusion of two new networks to ISMN:
The new network, CW3E, located in Colorado and California was added to ISMN in 2024. The network consists of 21 stations measuring soil moisture and soil temperature in 5, 10, 15, 20, 50 and 100 cm depth. Data availability varies by station, with the earliest data starting from 2017. All stations have data up to the present.
The RU-ADDFerti network in Germany consists of 30 stations in irrigated fields with measurements from June to September 2023. Soil moisture and soil temperature are mainly measured at 25 cm depth, but for some stations the sensors are installed at 50 cm depth. We would like to thank Alexander Steiger for providing the data and all relevant information.
BFG_Nw is a new network operated by the Federal Institute of Hydrology, Koblenz, Germany. The network consists of one station measuring soil moisture at 25, 50, 85 and 105 cm depth. Data are available from June 1996 to September 2024. In addition, soil temperature, precipitation, surface temperature and air temperature are measured at this station. We would like to thank Jens Wilhelmi for providing the data and for all the help during the implementation process.
In the second-half of 2024, we also integrated WATERLINE network into ISMN. This network, based in Greece, consists of three monitoring stations that measure soil moisture at a depth of 5 cm. In addition to soil moisture, the stations also provide in situ data on air temperature and precipitation.
Data for these stations are currently available from October 2021 through September 2024, with regular updates planned to ensure ongoing data availability.
We extend our sincere thanks to Stavros Stathopoulos, Prof. Alexandra Gemitzi, and the entire WATERLINE team for their valuable contributions and support of the ISMN.
Soil moisture, as well as other variables data were updated for several networks within the ISMN:
In November 2024, three new stations were added to the newly integrated CW3E network, bringing the total number of stations to twenty-one. Stations CPR and KNT in Colorado and IGM in California have been measuring soil moisture since September 2024.
We're happy to announce that XMS-CAT implemented two new stations during the summer and shared their data with us. The stations TDLL and AGDS, located in Catalunya, Spain, measure soil moisture, soil temperature in four different depths and additionally precipitation and air temperature and are now included within the ISMN.
Users can access and download data, including all updates for free here.
We are pleased to announce that the new stations for the CW3E network in the USA, recently added to the ISMN, are now being updated daily as a near-real-time (NRT) network. This brings the number of our NRT networks to ten, and we hope to continue to grow this number.
ISMN contributes to the WMO's 2023 Global State of the Global Water Resources report, highlighting a global decline in soil moisture. ISMN analyzed data from 160 stations, assessing moisture at two depths. Nearly half of Europe’s near-surface stations showed below-normal levels, while 81% of U.S. stations reported normal or above-normal conditions.
Global hydrological models indicated widespread below-normal moisture, particularly in North and South America, North Africa, and the Middle East. Limited in-situ data posed validation challenges. ISMN, involved since 2021, aims to enhance data collection and expand regional analysis in future reports.
Read the full report for details.
We are excited to share that 47 peer-reviewed articles utilizing ISMN data were published in the second half of 2024! The ISMN continues to be a vital data source for numerous research studies, and we are pleased to see its broad application across the scientific community. You can find a complete list of these publications here.
Among these publications, we would like to highlight the following studies, where ISMN data played a key role and was correctly cited in accordance with our Terms and Conditions.
Recent research has advanced soil moisture (SM) monitoring through innovative remote sensing and machine learning techniques. Notable contributions include:
These studies contribute to refining SM retrieval methodologies and addressing key challenges in global monitoring.
(For the complete list of featured references, visit our Publications page.)
If you have recently published a study using ISMN data, we would love to feature it! Please notify us of your publication so we can include it in our database.
A gentle reminder: Correctly citing the ISMN and the specific networks used in your study is crucial. Proper attribution not only acknowledges the efforts of data providers but also helps secure funding, ensuring continued free access to ISMN data for the research community.
For more information, visit our Publications page, where you can explore research on ISMN and studies leveraging ISMN data.
Due to the ongoing review of our social media policy, our activities on "X" @ismn_earth (formerly Twitter) is now limited. For up to date information about ISMN activities and other important news, please kindly check our news page.
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