Surface soil moisture map. A three-day composite global map of surface soil moisture between 25th and 27th August 2015. Dry areas appear yellow/orange, such as the Sahara Desert, Western Australia and the western U.S. Wet areas appear blue, representing the impacts of localized storms. White areas indicate snow, ice or frozen ground. This map was created with data from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite, an orbiting observatory measuring the amount of water in the top 5 centimetres of soil everywhere on Earth's surface. It provides measurements of the soil moisture and freeze-thaw state, completing global coverage every 2-3 days.