A land data assimilation system for sub-Saharan Africa food and water security applications

TLDR

Seasonal agricultural drought monitoring systems that combine satellite remote sensing with land surface models are critical for disaster risk reduction and famine early warning, and they require high‑quality weather inputs and long‑term historical records. This article introduces the FEWS NET Land Data Assimilation System (FLDAS), a customized NASA Land Information System framework designed to support food and water security in sub‑Saharan Africa. FLDAS routinely generates multi‑model, multi‑forcing estimates of hydro‑climate states and fluxes—including soil‑moisture percentiles and water‑availability metrics—that complement FEWS NET’s operational remote‑sensing rainfall, evapotranspiration, and vegetation observations across semi‑arid, food‑insecure regions. Over 30 years of monthly FLDAS outputs are publicly available from NASA GES DISC and are recommended for hydroclimate studies, early‑warning applications, and agro‑meteorological research in Eastern, Southern, and Western Africa.

Abstract

Abstract Seasonal agricultural drought monitoring systems, which rely on satellite remote sensing and land surface models (LSMs), are important for disaster risk reduction and famine early warning. These systems require the best available weather inputs, as well as a long-term historical record to contextualize current observations. This article introduces the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Land Data Assimilation System (FLDAS), a custom instance of the NASA Land Information System (LIS) framework. The FLDAS is routinely used to produce multi-model and multi-forcing estimates of hydro-climate states and fluxes over semi-arid, food insecure regions of Africa. These modeled data and derived products, like soil moisture percentiles and water availability, were designed and are currently used to complement FEWS NET’s operational remotely sensed rainfall, evapotranspiration, and vegetation observations. The 30+ years of monthly outputs from the FLDAS simulations are publicly available from the NASA Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) and recommended for use in hydroclimate studies, early warning applications, and by agro-meteorological scientists in Eastern, Southern, and Western Africa.