As part of a collaboration between eLTER and ICOS and supported by the ENVRINNOV project, Steffen Zacharias from eLTER and the UFZ are planning a webinar on Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensing (CRNS) on soil moisture. CRNS is one of the methods that will become part of the portfolio of many future eLTER RI sites as PRIME Standard Observation. Some ICOS sites are already using CRNS sensors on an optional basis and others may plan to do so in the future. There are therefore opportunities to harmonise measurements in addition to the established measurement programs.
The webinar will take place on 13th February 2025, 09:30 - 15:30 CET.
Participants will be sent the link to attend the webinar by email after registration.
The CRNS method places a number of demands on processing. During the webinar, the measurement method will be presented in all its details - from setup and operation to data processing. In particular, a software toolbox developed by Steffen’s group that greatly simplifies the processing of data and provides a basis for international harmonisation of data will be presented.
The webinar will also be promoted in the ENVRINNOV consortium as a dissemination activity of the WP2 which deals with implementation strategies among different European RIs. In addition to eLTER, interested ICOS-PIs have been invited too.
Agenda (subject to change)
09:30: Introduction: motivation, structure, objectives (Steffen Zacharias1)
09:45: European and global environmental research infrastructures – harmonised measurement technologies and protocols as a basis for stronger partnerships (Steffen Zacharias)
10:15: Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensing – from theory to applications (Martin Schrön1)
10:45: Global COSMOS - Towards the establishment of a Global Cosmic-ray Soil Moisture Observing System (Rafael Rosolem2)
11:15: Discussion (Rafael Rosolem)
11:30: Lunch break
12:30: Instructional video: How to set up a CRNS sensor in the field (Solveig Landmark1)
12:50: How to calibrate a CRNS sensor in the field (Trenton Franz3)
13:10: Corrections and conversion functions for data processing (Martin Schrön)
13:30 Hands-on: from neutrons to soil moisture with NEPTOON – a new sustainable research tool to simplify, automatise, harmonise, and advance CRNS data processing (Daniel Power1)
15:30 Closing (Steffen Zacharias)
1UFZ Leipzig, 2Uni Bristol, 3Uni Nebraska-Lincoln