SOIL MOISTURE

Jun 14 2026SCIENCE

How satellites help us understand Earth's hidden climate connections

Scientists often struggle to check if climate models get land and air interactions right, simply because there’s little global data to compare against. This new project changes that by creating worldwide maps that show how soil moisture and heat flow between Earth and the air are linked. Using satel

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Apr 28 2025ENVIRONMENT

Satellites and Soil: A New Way to Spot Droughts in Godavari

The Godavari Basin in India has been under the microscope for drought monitoring. The goal was to see if short-term satellite data could help spot agricultural droughts. This is important because soil moisture is key to understanding droughts, but getting detailed soil data over large areas is tou

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Apr 16 2025ENVIRONMENT

Layered Soil Water Secrets in Dry Lands

In the dry, wind-swept regions of northwestern China, soil water movement is a mystery. The Hydrus-3D model has been used to shed light on this puzzle, focusing on how water moves through layered soils. These layers can be made of different materials, like loess or sand. The study looked at how w

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Mar 18 2025SCIENCE

Smart Watering: How DIY Sensors Boost Lettuce Growth

Water is life. It is also a precious resource. Farmers often struggle with how much water to give their crops. Too much or too little can harm the plants. This is especially true in dry areas. So, how can farmers make the best use of water? One way is through smart irrigation. This means usin

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Mar 07 2025ENVIRONMENT

Farmers Find Their Forecast

In the heart of northern Ghana, farmers are getting a helping hand from a new tool called the DROP app. This isn't your average weather app; it's designed specifically for small-scale farmers who rely on rain for their crops. The app offers two types of rainfall forecasts: one based on scientific da

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Jan 31 2025ENVIRONMENT

Water Wise: Unpredictable Soil Moisture

The eastern region of the Songnen Plain is a big deal for farming. But there is a problem. Soil moisture there is tricky. Farmers need to know what to expect from the soil. But it is not easy. It can change because of weather, plants, and the soil itself. Scientists usually try to figure out soil m

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Nov 09 2024SCIENCE

Improving Weather Forecasts: A Tale of Soil Moisture Data

Scientists are diving into the world of data assimilation to boost weather and hydrological forecasts. They've combined a land data assimilation component with a global atmospheric model called NICAM-LETKF. This mix allows them to conduct two types of experiments: strongly and weakly coupled land-at

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Nov 06 2024SCIENCE

Improving Weather Forecasts: The Power of Soil Moisture Data

Scientists are looking at a new way to make weather and water predictions better. They're using something called coupled land–atmosphere data assimilation. This means they're combining information from the ground (like how wet the soil is) with information from the air (like temperature and wind spe

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