Articles | Volume 29, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2583-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2583-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Data-driven scaling methods for soil moisture cosmic ray neutron sensors
Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Str. 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
Patrick Davies
Department of Meteorology and Climate Science, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana
Paolo Nasta
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Division of Agricultural, Forest and Biosystems Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Portici (Naples), Italy
Heye Bogena
Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Agrosphere (IBG-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52428 Jülich, Germany
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Heye Reemt Bogena, Martin Schrön, Jannis Jakobi, Patrizia Ney, Steffen Zacharias, Mie Andreasen, Roland Baatz, David Boorman, Mustafa Berk Duygu, Miguel Angel Eguibar-Galán, Benjamin Fersch, Till Franke, Josie Geris, María González Sanchis, Yann Kerr, Tobias Korf, Zalalem Mengistu, Arnaud Mialon, Paolo Nasta, Jerzy Nitychoruk, Vassilios Pisinaras, Daniel Rasche, Rafael Rosolem, Hami Said, Paul Schattan, Marek Zreda, Stefan Achleitner, Eduardo Albentosa-Hernández, Zuhal Akyürek, Theresa Blume, Antonio del Campo, Davide Canone, Katya Dimitrova-Petrova, John G. Evans, Stefano Ferraris, Félix Frances, Davide Gisolo, Andreas Güntner, Frank Herrmann, Joost Iwema, Karsten H. Jensen, Harald Kunstmann, Antonio Lidón, Majken Caroline Looms, Sascha Oswald, Andreas Panagopoulos, Amol Patil, Daniel Power, Corinna Rebmann, Nunzio Romano, Lena Scheiffele, Sonia Seneviratne, Georg Weltin, and Harry Vereecken
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1125–1151, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1125-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1125-2022, 2022
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Monitoring of increasingly frequent droughts is a prerequisite for climate adaptation strategies. This data paper presents long-term soil moisture measurements recorded by 66 cosmic-ray neutron sensors (CRNS) operated by 24 institutions and distributed across major climate zones in Europe. Data processing followed harmonized protocols and state-of-the-art methods to generate consistent and comparable soil moisture products and to facilitate continental-scale analysis of hydrological extremes.
Fang Li, Heye Reemt Bogena, Johannes Keller, Bagher Bayat, Rahul Raj, and Harrie-Jan Hendricks-Franssen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2124, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2124, 2025
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We developed a new method to improve hydrological modeling by jointly using soil moisture and groundwater level data from field sensors in a catchment in Germany. By updating the model separately for shallow and deep soil zones, we achieved more accurate predictions of soil water, groundwater depth, and evapotranspiration. Our results show that combining both data types gives more balanced and reliable outcomes than using either alone.
Heye Reemt Bogena, Frank Herrmann, Andreas Lücke, Thomas Pütz, and Harry Vereecken
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-185, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-185, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
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The Wüstebach catchment in Germany’s TERENO network underwent partial deforestation in 2013 to support natural regrowth in Eifel National Park. This data paper presents 16 years (2010–2024) of estimated hourly stream-water flux data for nine macro- and micronutrients, dissolved ionic aluminum, and dissolved organic carbon, along with measured solute concentrations and discharge rates from two stations—one affected by clear-cutting and one unaffected.
Roland Baatz, Gohar Ghazaryan, Michael Hagenlocher, Claas Nendel, Andrea Toreti, and Ehsan Eyshi Rezaei
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1379–1393, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1379-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1379-2025, 2025
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Our global review of 130 000 peer-reviewed articles reveals that drought forecasting and plant genetics dominate drought research priorities. Using topic modelling, we traced evolving themes from 1901 to 2022, highlighting a shift from ecology to cutting-edge technologies. By applying unsupervised machine learning, we offer insights into how integrated approaches matter, guiding future priorities to strengthen drought resilience and to safeguard water resources.
Paolo Nasta, Günter Blöschl, Heye R. Bogena, Steffen Zacharias, Roland Baatz, Gabriëlle De Lannoy, Karsten H. Jensen, Salvatore Manfreda, Laurent Pfister, Ana M. Tarquis, Ilja van Meerveld, Marc Voltz, Yijian Zeng, William Kustas, Xin Li, Harry Vereecken, and Nunzio Romano
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The Unsolved Problems in Hydrology (UPH) initiative has emphasized the need to establish networks of multi-decadal hydrological observatories to tackle catchment-scale challenges on a global scale. This opinion paper provocatively discusses two endmembers of possible future hydrological observatory (HO) networks for a given hypothesized community budget: a comprehensive set of moderately instrumented observatories or, alternatively, a small number of highly instrumented supersites.
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Lukas Strebel, Heye Bogena, Harry Vereecken, Mie Andreasen, Sergio Aranda-Barranco, and Harrie-Jan Hendricks Franssen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1001–1026, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1001-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1001-2024, 2024
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Theresa Boas, Heye Reemt Bogena, Dongryeol Ryu, Harry Vereecken, Andrew Western, and Harrie-Jan Hendricks Franssen
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Friedrich Boeing, Oldrich Rakovec, Rohini Kumar, Luis Samaniego, Martin Schrön, Anke Hildebrandt, Corinna Rebmann, Stephan Thober, Sebastian Müller, Steffen Zacharias, Heye Bogena, Katrin Schneider, Ralf Kiese, Sabine Attinger, and Andreas Marx
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5137–5161, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5137-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5137-2022, 2022
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In this paper, we deliver an evaluation of the second generation operational German drought monitor (https://www.ufz.de/duerremonitor) with a state-of-the-art compilation of observed soil moisture data from 40 locations and four different measurement methods in Germany. We show that the expressed stakeholder needs for higher resolution drought information at the one-kilometer scale can be met and that the agreement of simulated and observed soil moisture dynamics can be moderately improved.
Olga Dombrowski, Cosimo Brogi, Harrie-Jan Hendricks Franssen, Damiano Zanotelli, and Heye Bogena
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 5167–5193, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5167-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5167-2022, 2022
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Soil carbon storage and food production of fruit orchards will be influenced by climate change. However, they lack representation in models that study such processes. We developed and tested a new sub-model, CLM5-FruitTree, that describes growth, biomass distribution, and management practices in orchards. The model satisfactorily predicted yield and exchange of carbon, energy, and water in an apple orchard and can be used to study land surface processes in fruit orchards at different scales.
Maik Heistermann, Heye Bogena, Till Francke, Andreas Güntner, Jannis Jakobi, Daniel Rasche, Martin Schrön, Veronika Döpper, Benjamin Fersch, Jannis Groh, Amol Patil, Thomas Pütz, Marvin Reich, Steffen Zacharias, Carmen Zengerle, and Sascha Oswald
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2501–2519, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2501-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2501-2022, 2022
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This paper presents a dense network of cosmic-ray neutron sensing (CRNS) to measure spatio-temporal soil moisture patterns during a 2-month campaign in the Wüstebach headwater catchment in Germany. Stationary, mobile, and airborne CRNS technology monitored the root-zone water dynamics as well as spatial heterogeneity in the 0.4 km2 area. The 15 CRNS stations were supported by a hydrogravimeter, biomass sampling, and a wireless soil sensor network to facilitate holistic hydrological analysis.
Wei Qu, Heye Bogena, Christoph Schüth, Harry Vereecken, Zongmei Li, and Stephan Schulz
Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2022-131, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2022-131, 2022
Publication in GMD not foreseen
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We applied the global sensitivity analysis LH-OAT to the integrated hydrology model ParFlow-CLM to investigate the sensitivity of the 12 parameters for different scenarios. And we found that the general patterns of the parameter sensitivities were consistent, however, for some parameters a significantly larger span of the sensitivities was observed, especially for the higher slope and in subarctic climatic scenarios.
Heye Reemt Bogena, Martin Schrön, Jannis Jakobi, Patrizia Ney, Steffen Zacharias, Mie Andreasen, Roland Baatz, David Boorman, Mustafa Berk Duygu, Miguel Angel Eguibar-Galán, Benjamin Fersch, Till Franke, Josie Geris, María González Sanchis, Yann Kerr, Tobias Korf, Zalalem Mengistu, Arnaud Mialon, Paolo Nasta, Jerzy Nitychoruk, Vassilios Pisinaras, Daniel Rasche, Rafael Rosolem, Hami Said, Paul Schattan, Marek Zreda, Stefan Achleitner, Eduardo Albentosa-Hernández, Zuhal Akyürek, Theresa Blume, Antonio del Campo, Davide Canone, Katya Dimitrova-Petrova, John G. Evans, Stefano Ferraris, Félix Frances, Davide Gisolo, Andreas Güntner, Frank Herrmann, Joost Iwema, Karsten H. Jensen, Harald Kunstmann, Antonio Lidón, Majken Caroline Looms, Sascha Oswald, Andreas Panagopoulos, Amol Patil, Daniel Power, Corinna Rebmann, Nunzio Romano, Lena Scheiffele, Sonia Seneviratne, Georg Weltin, and Harry Vereecken
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1125–1151, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1125-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1125-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Monitoring of increasingly frequent droughts is a prerequisite for climate adaptation strategies. This data paper presents long-term soil moisture measurements recorded by 66 cosmic-ray neutron sensors (CRNS) operated by 24 institutions and distributed across major climate zones in Europe. Data processing followed harmonized protocols and state-of-the-art methods to generate consistent and comparable soil moisture products and to facilitate continental-scale analysis of hydrological extremes.
Lukas Strebel, Heye R. Bogena, Harry Vereecken, and Harrie-Jan Hendricks Franssen
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 395–411, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-395-2022, 2022
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We present the technical coupling between a land surface model (CLM5) and the Parallel Data Assimilation Framework (PDAF). This coupling enables measurement data to update simulated model states and parameters in a statistically optimal way. We demonstrate the viability of the model framework using an application in a forested catchment where the inclusion of soil water measurements significantly improved the simulation quality.
Wouter Dorigo, Irene Himmelbauer, Daniel Aberer, Lukas Schremmer, Ivana Petrakovic, Luca Zappa, Wolfgang Preimesberger, Angelika Xaver, Frank Annor, Jonas Ardö, Dennis Baldocchi, Marco Bitelli, Günter Blöschl, Heye Bogena, Luca Brocca, Jean-Christophe Calvet, J. Julio Camarero, Giorgio Capello, Minha Choi, Michael C. Cosh, Nick van de Giesen, Istvan Hajdu, Jaakko Ikonen, Karsten H. Jensen, Kasturi Devi Kanniah, Ileen de Kat, Gottfried Kirchengast, Pankaj Kumar Rai, Jenni Kyrouac, Kristine Larson, Suxia Liu, Alexander Loew, Mahta Moghaddam, José Martínez Fernández, Cristian Mattar Bader, Renato Morbidelli, Jan P. Musial, Elise Osenga, Michael A. Palecki, Thierry Pellarin, George P. Petropoulos, Isabella Pfeil, Jarrett Powers, Alan Robock, Christoph Rüdiger, Udo Rummel, Michael Strobel, Zhongbo Su, Ryan Sullivan, Torbern Tagesson, Andrej Varlagin, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Jeffrey Walker, Jun Wen, Fred Wenger, Jean Pierre Wigneron, Mel Woods, Kun Yang, Yijian Zeng, Xiang Zhang, Marek Zreda, Stephan Dietrich, Alexander Gruber, Peter van Oevelen, Wolfgang Wagner, Klaus Scipal, Matthias Drusch, and Roberto Sabia
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5749–5804, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5749-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5749-2021, 2021
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The International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) is a community-based open-access data portal for soil water measurements taken at the ground and is accessible at https://ismn.earth. Over 1000 scientific publications and thousands of users have made use of the ISMN. The scope of this paper is to inform readers about the data and functionality of the ISMN and to provide a review of the scientific progress facilitated through the ISMN with the scope to shape future research and operations.
Markus Hrachowitz, Michael Stockinger, Miriam Coenders-Gerrits, Ruud van der Ent, Heye Bogena, Andreas Lücke, and Christine Stumpp
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4887–4915, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4887-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4887-2021, 2021
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Deforestation affects how catchments store and release water. Here we found that deforestation in the study catchment led to a 20 % increase in mean runoff, while reducing the vegetation-accessible water storage from about 258 to 101 mm. As a consequence, fractions of young water in the stream increased by up to 25 % during wet periods. This implies that water and solutes are more rapidly routed to the stream, which can, after contamination, lead to increased contaminant peak concentrations.
Theresa Boas, Heye Bogena, Thomas Grünwald, Bernard Heinesch, Dongryeol Ryu, Marius Schmidt, Harry Vereecken, Andrew Western, and Harrie-Jan Hendricks Franssen
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 573–601, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-573-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-573-2021, 2021
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In this study we were able to significantly improve CLM5 model performance for European cropland sites by adding a winter wheat representation, specific plant parameterizations for important cash crops, and a cover-cropping and crop rotation subroutine to its crop module. Our modifications should be applied in future studies of CLM5 to improve regional yield predictions and to better understand large-scale impacts of agricultural management on carbon, water, and energy fluxes.
Jie Tian, Zhibo Han, Heye Reemt Bogena, Johan Alexander Huisman, Carsten Montzka, Baoqing Zhang, and Chansheng He
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4659–4674, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4659-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4659-2020, 2020
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Large-scale profile soil moisture (SM) is important for water resource management, but its estimation is a challenge. Thus, based on in situ SM observations in a cold mountain, a strong relationship between the surface SM and subsurface SM is found. Both the subsurface SM of 10–30 cm and the profile SM of 0–70 cm can be estimated from the surface SM of 0–10 cm accurately. By combing with the satellite product, we improve the large-scale profile SM estimation in the cold mountains finally.
Benjamin Fersch, Till Francke, Maik Heistermann, Martin Schrön, Veronika Döpper, Jannis Jakobi, Gabriele Baroni, Theresa Blume, Heye Bogena, Christian Budach, Tobias Gränzig, Michael Förster, Andreas Güntner, Harrie-Jan Hendricks Franssen, Mandy Kasner, Markus Köhli, Birgit Kleinschmit, Harald Kunstmann, Amol Patil, Daniel Rasche, Lena Scheiffele, Ulrich Schmidt, Sandra Szulc-Seyfried, Jannis Weimar, Steffen Zacharias, Marek Zreda, Bernd Heber, Ralf Kiese, Vladimir Mares, Hannes Mollenhauer, Ingo Völksch, and Sascha Oswald
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2289–2309, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2289-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2289-2020, 2020
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Short summary
The data-driven approach enhances soil water content measurements by improving the precision of cosmic ray neutron sensors (CRNSs). This study demonstrates a new method to account for dynamics in air pressure, atmospheric humidity, and incoming neutron intensity. Soil water content measured by CRNSs showed reduced errors compared to reference measurements. The findings highlight the need for precise adjustments to better measure soil moisture for agricultural, water, and climate monitoring.
The data-driven approach enhances soil water content measurements by improving the precision of...