Neutrons on rails
- Large-scale measurements of the spatial distribution of water content in soils and snow are challenging for state-of-the-art hydrogeophysical methods. Cosmic-ray neutron sensing (CRNS) is a noninvasive technology that has the potential to bridge the scale gap between conventional in situ sensors and remote sensing products in both, horizontal and vertical domains. In this study, we explore the feasibility and potential of estimating water content in soils and snow with neutron detectors in moving trains. Theoretical considerations quantify the stochastic measurement uncertainty as a function of water content, altitude, resolution, and detector efficiency. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the sensitivity of measured water content is almost unperturbed by train materials. Finally, three distinct real-world experiments provide a proof of concept on short and long-range tracks. With our results a transregional observational soil moisture product becomes a realistic vision within the next years.
Author details: | Martin SchrönORCiDGND, Sascha OswaldORCiDGND, Steffen ZachariasORCiDGND, Mandy KasnerORCiD, Peter DietrichORCiD, Sabine AttingerORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093924 |
ISSN: | 0094-8276 |
ISSN: | 1944-8007 |
Title of parent work (English): | Geophysical research letters : GRL / American Geophysical Union |
Subtitle (English): | Transregional monitoring of soil moisture and snow water equivalent |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Place of publishing: | Hoboken, NJ |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2021/12/09 |
Publication year: | 2021 |
Release date: | 2024/05/27 |
Tag: | cosmic-ray neutron sensing; multiscale; railway; snow water equivalent; soil moisture; transregional |
Volume: | 48 |
Issue: | 24 |
Article number: | e2021GL093924 |
Number of pages: | 10 |
Funding institution: | European UnionEuropean Commission [213 007]; DFG (German Research Foundation)German Research Foundation (DFG) [357874777]; Projekt DEAL; Helmholtz AssociationHelmholtz Association; Terrestrial Environmental Observatories (TERENO); Modular Observation Solutions for Earth Systems (MOSES) |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Umweltwissenschaften und Geographie |
DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 55 Geowissenschaften, Geologie / 550 Geowissenschaften |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Open Access / Hybrid Open-Access |
License (German): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |