Publication Date:
2015-03-12
Description:
Cosmic-ray probes are an emerging technology to continuously monitor soil water content at a scale significant to land surface processes. However, the application of this method is hampered by its susceptibility to the presence of aboveground biomass. Here, we present a simple empirical framework to account for moderation of fast neutrons by aboveground biomass in the calibration. The method extends the N 0 -calibration function and was developed using an extensive data set from a network of ten cosmic-ray probes located in the Rur catchment, Germany. The results suggest a 0.9% reduction in fast neutron intensity per 1kg of dry aboveground biomass per m 2 or per 2kg of biomass water equivalent per m 2 . We successfully tested the novel vegetation correction using temporary cosmic-ray probe measurements along a strong gradient in biomass due to deforestation, and using the COSMIC, and the hmf-method as independent soil water content retrieval algorithms. The extended N 0 -calibration function was able to explain 95% of the overall variability in fast neutron intensity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Print ISSN:
0043-1397
Electronic ISSN:
1944-7973
Topics:
Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying
,
Geography
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