Daily and sub-daily hydrometeorological and soil data (2013-2023) [COSMOS-UK]

This dataset contains daily and sub-daily hydrometeorological and soil moisture observations from COSMOS-UK (cosmic-ray soil moisture) monitoring network from October 2013 to the end of 2023. These data are from 51 sites across the UK recording a range of hydrometeorological and soil variables.

Each site in the network records the following hydrometeorological and soil data at 30-minute resolution: Radiation (short wave, long wave, and net), precipitation, atmospheric pressure, air temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity, soil heat flux, and soil temperature and volumetric water content (VWC), measured by point sensors at various depths.

Each site hosts a cosmic-ray sensing probe; a novel sensor technology which counts fast neutrons in the surrounding atmosphere. In combination with the recorded hydrometeorological data, neutron counts are used to derive VWC over a field scale (COSMOS VWC), provide at daily resolution.

The presence of snow leads to erroneously high measurements of COSMOS VWC due to all the extra water in the surrounding area. Included in the daily data are indications of snow days, on which, the COSMOS VWC are adjusted, and the snow water equivalent (SWE) is given.

The potential evapotranspiration (PE), derived from recorded hydrometeorological and soil are also included at daily resolution.

Two levels of quality control are carried out, firstly data is run through a series of automated checks, such as range tests and spike tests, and then all data is manually inspected each week where any other faults are picked up, including sensor faults or connection issues. Quality control flags are provided for all recorded (30 minute) data, indicating the reason for any missing data.

This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability.