Soil water content in southern England derived from a cosmic‐ray soil moisture observing system – COSMOS‐UK

Cosmic‐ray soil moisture sensors have the advantage of a large measurement footprint (approximately 700 m in diameter) and are able to operate continuously to provide area‐averaged near‐surface (top 10–20 cm) volumetric soil moisture content at the field scale. This paper presents the application of this technique at four sites in southern England over almost 3 years. Results show the soil moisture response to contrasting climatic conditions during 2011–2014 and are the first such field‐scale measurements made in the UK. These four sites are prototype stations for a UK COsmic‐ray Soil Moisture Observing System, and particular consideration is given to sensor operating conditions in the UK. Comparison of these soil water content observations with the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator 10‐cm soil moisture layer shows that these data can be used to test and diagnose model performance and indicate the potential for assimilation of these data into hydro‐meteorological models. The application of these large‐area soil water content measurements to evaluate remotely sensed soil moisture products is also demonstrated. Numerous applications and the future development of a national COsmic‐ray Soil Moisture Observing System network are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.