Soil moisture refers to the water that is trapped between soil particles. In contrast to root zone soil moisture, which is typically thought to be in the upper 200 cm of soil, surface soil moisture refers to the water that is in the top 10 cm of soil. The amount of soil moisture is tiny in comparison to other hydrologic cycle components, yet it is crucial to numerous hydrological, biological, and biogeochemical activities. Numerous government organizations and private businesses interested in weather and climate, runoff potential and flood control, soil erosion and slope failure, reservoir management, geotechnical engineering, and water quality can benefit from information on soil moisture. In order to regulate the movement of water and heat energy between the land surface and the atmosphere through evaporation and plant transpiration, soil moisture is a crucial factor. As a result, soil moisture is crucial to the formation of weather patterns and the precipitation cycle.
Improved surface soil moisture, vegetation, and temperature characterization can result in significant forecast improvements, simulations using numerical weather prediction models have demonstrated. The amount of precipitation that drains into the neighboring streams and rivers is also greatly influenced by the moisture of the soil. Information on soil moisture can be utilized for crop output predictions, irrigation scheduling, drought early warning, and reservoir management.