Discussions https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2020-287 Earth System Preprint. Discussion started: 28 October 2020 Science c Author(s) 2020. CC BY 4.0 License. Open Access Open Data COSMOS-UK: National soil moisture and hydrometeorology data for empowering UK environmental science Hollie M. Cooper1, Emma Bennett1, James Blake1, Eleanor Blyth1, David Boorman1, Elizabeth Cooper1, Matthew Fry1, Alan Jenkins1, Ross Morrison1, Daniel Rylett1, Simon Stanley1, Magdalena Szczykulska1, 5 Emily Trill1 1UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK Correspondence to: Hollie M. Cooper (
[email protected]) 10 15 20 1 Discussions https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2020-287 Earth System Preprint. Discussion started: 28 October 2020 Science c Author(s) 2020. CC BY 4.0 License. Open Access Open Data Abstract. The COSMOS-UK observation network has been providing field scale soil moisture and hydrometeorological measurements across the UK since 2013. At the time of publication a total of 51 COSMOS-UK sites have been established, 25 each delivering high temporal resolution data in near-real time. Each site utilises a cosmic-ray neutron sensor, which counts fast neutrons at the land surface. These measurements are used to derive field scale near-surface soil water content, which can provide unique insight for science, industry, and agriculture by filling a scale gap between localised point soil moisture and large-scale satellite soil moisture datasets. Additional soil physics and meteorological measurements are made by the COSMOS-UK network including precipitation, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, soil heat flux, wind 30 speed and direction, and components of incoming and outgoing radiation.