An 11-year (2007-2017) soil moisture and precipitation dataset from the Kenaston Network in the Brightwater Creek basin, Saskatchewan, Canada

Abstract

Soil moisture and precipitation have been monitored in a hydrometeorological network situated within the Brightwater Creek basin, east of Kenaston, Saskatchewan, Canada, since 2007. The majority of the prairie landscape is annually cropped with some sections in pasture. This agricultural region is ideal for remotesensing validation and calibration and, in conjunction with the flux tower situated within the network, hydrological model validation. Remote-sensing validation collaborations have included the European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP). The network was developed at two spatial scales, one high-resolution set of sites installed over a 10 km-10 km region and a second installed over 40 km-40 km. The sites are all similar in design with three instrument depths for soil moisture and temperature, as well as precipitation measurement. The 2007-2017 dataset published in this paper has gone through a quality control review process, which involved both automated and manual processes. The dataset is limited to the summer months (1 May-30 September) due to the uncertainties and complexities of measurement in frozen soils and the freeze-thaw period each year.