Daily Soil Moisture of Europe

Continuous simulations with the LISFLOOD model within the European Flood Alert System produce daily soil moisture maps of Europe. This information provides an instantaneous image of the current situation of the water content as modelled by LISFLOOD . Meteorological input information is derived from measured and spatially interpolated meteorological point data provided by the MARS-STAT activity of IPSC-JRC (so called JRC-MARS data). Due to the reception via the Global Telecommunication System of WMO and further processing the data are typically one to two days behind the current date. Within EFAS the simulations with JRC-MARS data provide the initial conditions for various simulations in the flood forecasting mode. The spatial resolution of LISFLOOD on the pan-European scale is currently at 5 km.   Information on soil moisture is presented in form of soil suction (pF) values of the top soil layer that commonly range between 1.5 for very wet conditions up to 5.0 for very dry soils. The pF value describes the forces necessary for plants to apply in order to extract water from the soil for their use. It incorporates variations in the water holding capacity of different soil types and thus allows for comparison of the soil water status at different locations throughout Europe.