Novel Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensor Accurately Captures Field-Scale Soil Moisture Trends under Heterogeneous Soil Textures

Soil moisture is a critical variable influencing plant water uptake, rainfall-runoff partitioning, and near-surface atmospheric conditions. Soil moisture measurements are typically made using either in-situ sensors or by collecting samples, both methods which have a small spatial footprint or, in re...

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Autores principales:	Kade D. Flynn, Briana M. Wyatt, Kevin J. McInnes
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	cosmic ray neutron sensor soil moisture lithium foil Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/6a12dc3c2da54ab88cee756161dae50d
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:6a12dc3c2da54ab88cee756161dae50d2021-11-11T19:55:28ZNovel Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensor Accurately Captures Field-Scale Soil Moisture Trends under Heterogeneous Soil Textures10.3390/w132130382073-4441https://doaj.org/article/6a12dc3c2da54ab88cee756161dae50d2021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/21/3038https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4441Soil moisture is a critical variable influencing plant water uptake, rainfall-runoff partitioning, and near-surface atmospheric conditions. Soil moisture measurements are typically made using either in-situ sensors or by collecting samples, both methods which have a small spatial footprint or, in recent years, by remote sensing satellites with large spatial footprints. The cosmic ray neutron sensor (CRNS) is a proximal technology which provides estimates of field-averaged soil moisture within a radius of up to 240 m from the sensor, offering a much larger sensing footprint than point measurements and providing field-scale information that satellite soil moisture observations cannot capture. Here we compare volumetric soil moisture estimates derived from a novel, less expensive lithium (Li) foil-based CRNS to those from a more expensive commercially available <sup>3</sup>He-based CRNS, to measurements from in-situ sensors, and to four intensive surveys of soil moisture in a field with highly variable soil texture. Our results indicate that the accuracy of the Li foil CRNS is comparable to that of the commercially available sensors (MAD = 0.020 m<sup>3</sup> m<sup>−3</sup>), as are the detection radius and depth. Additionally, both sensors capture the influence of soil textural variability on field-average soil moisture. Because novel Li foil-based CRNSs are comparable in accuracy to and much less expensive than current commercially available CRNSs, there is strong potential for future adoption by land and water managers and increased adoption by researchers interested in obtaining field-scale estimates of soil moisture to improve water conservation and sustainability.Kade D. FlynnBriana M. WyattKevin J. McInnesMDPI AGarticlecosmic ray neutron sensorsoil moisturelithium foilHydraulic engineeringTC1-978Water supply for domestic and industrial purposesTD201-500ENWater, Vol 13, Iss 3038, p 3038 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	cosmic ray neutron sensor soil moisture lithium foil Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500
spellingShingle	cosmic ray neutron sensor soil moisture lithium foil Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 Kade D. Flynn Briana M. Wyatt Kevin J. McInnes Novel Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensor Accurately Captures Field-Scale Soil Moisture Trends under Heterogeneous Soil Textures
description	Soil moisture is a critical variable influencing plant water uptake, rainfall-runoff partitioning, and near-surface atmospheric conditions. Soil moisture measurements are typically made using either in-situ sensors or by collecting samples, both methods which have a small spatial footprint or, in recent years, by remote sensing satellites with large spatial footprints. The cosmic ray neutron sensor (CRNS) is a proximal technology which provides estimates of field-averaged soil moisture within a radius of up to 240 m from the sensor, offering a much larger sensing footprint than point measurements and providing field-scale information that satellite soil moisture observations cannot capture. Here we compare volumetric soil moisture estimates derived from a novel, less expensive lithium (Li) foil-based CRNS to those from a more expensive commercially available <sup>3</sup>He-based CRNS, to measurements from in-situ sensors, and to four intensive surveys of soil moisture in a field with highly variable soil texture. Our results indicate that the accuracy of the Li foil CRNS is comparable to that of the commercially available sensors (MAD = 0.020 m<sup>3</sup> m<sup>−3</sup>), as are the detection radius and depth. Additionally, both sensors capture the influence of soil textural variability on field-average soil moisture. Because novel Li foil-based CRNSs are comparable in accuracy to and much less expensive than current commercially available CRNSs, there is strong potential for future adoption by land and water managers and increased adoption by researchers interested in obtaining field-scale estimates of soil moisture to improve water conservation and sustainability.
format	article
author	Kade D. Flynn Briana M. Wyatt Kevin J. McInnes
author_facet	Kade D. Flynn Briana M. Wyatt Kevin J. McInnes
author_sort	Kade D. Flynn
title	Novel Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensor Accurately Captures Field-Scale Soil Moisture Trends under Heterogeneous Soil Textures
title_short	Novel Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensor Accurately Captures Field-Scale Soil Moisture Trends under Heterogeneous Soil Textures
title_full	Novel Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensor Accurately Captures Field-Scale Soil Moisture Trends under Heterogeneous Soil Textures
title_fullStr	Novel Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensor Accurately Captures Field-Scale Soil Moisture Trends under Heterogeneous Soil Textures
title_full_unstemmed	Novel Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensor Accurately Captures Field-Scale Soil Moisture Trends under Heterogeneous Soil Textures
title_sort	novel cosmic ray neutron sensor accurately captures field-scale soil moisture trends under heterogeneous soil textures
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/6a12dc3c2da54ab88cee756161dae50d
work_keys_str_mv	AT kadedflynn novelcosmicrayneutronsensoraccuratelycapturesfieldscalesoilmoisturetrendsunderheterogeneoussoiltextures AT brianamwyatt novelcosmicrayneutronsensoraccuratelycapturesfieldscalesoilmoisturetrendsunderheterogeneoussoiltextures AT kevinjmcinnes novelcosmicrayneutronsensoraccuratelycapturesfieldscalesoilmoisturetrendsunderheterogeneoussoiltextures
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Novel Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensor Accurately Captures Field-Scale Soil Moisture Trends under Heterogeneous Soil Textures

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