From grid to ground: how well do gridded products  represent soil moisture dynamics in natural ecosystems  during precipitation events?

Núñez-Ibarra, Daniel A.; Zambrano-Bigiarini, Mauricio; Galleguillos, Mauricio

doi:10.5194/hess-30-1813-2026

Articles | Volume 30, issue 6

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1813-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1813-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 30, issue 6

Research article

|

02 Apr 2026

Research article |

| 02 Apr 2026

From grid to ground: how well do gridded products represent soil moisture dynamics in natural ecosystems during precipitation events?

Daniel A. Núñez-Ibarra, Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, and Mauricio Galleguillos

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1813-2026-supplement

Data sets

ERA5 hourly data on single levels from 1940 to present H. Hersbach et al. https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.adbb2d47

ERA5-Land hourly data from 1950 to present J. Muñoz-Sabater https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.e2161bac

MAP L4 Global 3-hourly 9 km EASE-Grid Surface and Root Zone Soil Moisture Analysis Update, Version 7 R. H. Reichle et al. https://doi.org/10.5067/LWJ6TF5SZRG3

GLDAS Noah Land Surface Model L4 3 hourly 0.25 × 0.25 degree V2.1 H. Beaudoing et al. https://doi.org/10.5067/E7TYRXPJKWOQ

Short summary

Soil moisture plays a key role in how land and climate interact, yet it remains difficult to measure in remote or natural areas. This study compared four state-of-the-art soil moisture datasets against ground data from ten sites in Chile. Results show that some products perform better in humid areas, while others do better in dry regions. The work highlights which datasets are most reliable and suggests new ways to assess how well they track changes after precipitation events.