Remote automated data collection network for soil climate and associated meteorological climate information. These sites pilot test a potential national network of hundreds of sites to provide near real time soil moisture and temperature profiles for GC modelers, early warning of soil climate change, and assist in monitoring mitigation practices. Reliability of sensor technology, data handling, information relevance, utility for GC scientists, and feasibility for expansion of network are ongoing evaluations. Chemical and biological processes in wet soils are being monitored in 8 eight states to better understand biogeochemical processes in such soils.
Preliminary maps are currently available and used by interested scientists.
Primary beneficiaries are U.S. global change scientists who need, or want, soil and soil-related information to assist in solving their problems. Because US soil classification uses soil climate, these data check the system and permits us to expand the system in other countries as we share derived soil climate data from their countries. This facilitates international correlation of resource information. We link with major international organizations, national soil research organizations, and individual scientists. Provides data layers for GIS, or small scale maps of soil climate to merge with soil maps, vegetation, water resources, degradation or other resource information to better visualize where things occur and where policy proposals may be directed.