Dresden 2026 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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UP: Fachverband Umweltphysik
UP 7: Aquatic Systems: Limnology, Natural Waters, Wetlands and Soilmoisture
UP 7.5: Vortrag
Mittwoch, 11. März 2026, 12:15–12:30, MER/0002
Environmental monitoring with cosmic-ray neutrons: new experiments on ships, blimps, and trains — •Martin Schrön1, Lasse Hertle1, Daniel Altdorff1,2, Solveig Landmark1, Bernd Heber3, Sascha Oswald2, Peter Dietrich1, and Steffen Zacharias1 — 1UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig — 2Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam — 3Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Kiel
Cosmic-ray neutron sensing (CRNS) technology has emerged as a robust technique for measuring root-zone soil moisture and snow water equivalent at the hectare scale, addressing many limitations of traditional electromagnetic and remote-sensing methods. Here we will present three new applications that utilize mobile cosmic-ray neutron detectors to explore (i) Earth's geomagnetic field with the "Polarstern" research vessel from Bremerhaven to Antarctica, (ii) the soil moisture distribution of inaccessible regions in Germany using hot-air blimps, and (iii) country-scale soil moisture patterns using CRNS on trains along German railway networks. The three experiments showcase recent advancement in CRNS research which may contribute to new applications in hydrology, environmental physics, and even space wheather.
Keywords: Cosmic-ray neutrons; Soil moisture; Geomagnetic field; Mobile measurement platforms; Hydrology