12th TERENO WORKSHOP 2024

At the beginning of November 2024, the TERENO initiative hosted its annual international workshop. Around 90 experts from various countries and scientific disciplines came to the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research - UFZ in Leipzig to discuss the latest developments in terrestrial environmental research. The focus was on innovative approaches to observing and modeling environmental processes, interdisciplinary cooperation and the expansion of international networks. Inspiring presentations, intensive discussions and practical workshops promoted exchange and provided valuable impetus for future research projects. The program also included two excursions: to the Leipzig branch of the German Meteorological Service (DWD) and to the Brandis lysimeter facility (right picture). The Brandis Lysimeter facility has been providing data on soil water balance since 1980 and is part of the monitoring network of the Saxon State Agency for Environment, Agriculture and Geology.

Second TERENO-OZCAR International Conference 2023
in Bonn, Germany

In October 2021, we organized the first joint meeting of OZCAR, the French research infrastructure on “Observatoires de la Zone Critique” and TERENO, “Terrestrial Environmental Observatories” in Straßbourg, France. It was the first meeting of this kind in Europe aiming at bringing together scientists active in terrestrial system’s research. This meeting was extremely well received as the place to be where critical zone research in Europe meets.

Following up on this success, it was decided to organize a second international joint meeting in Bonn, the former capital of the Federal Republic of Germany. The conference program covered 10 main subject areas – from fundamental questions on exchange processes between soil, vegetation and atmosphere, to the use of data and different approaches to long-term observation, to new measurement methods and modeling approaches. Some 170 researchers from about 20 countries attended the conference in Bonn and roughly, 50 additional participants attended the conference online. More than 80 oral presentations and 70 poster presentations brought participants up to date on the latest developments in Critical Zone research.

An excursion to the TERENO test site Wüstebach and a conference dinner on the Rhine cruise ship Moby Dick complemented the conference. In addition, Franco-German research and science cooperation and related funding and financing programs were presented and discussed at a special event hosted by Samuel Pujade-Renaud of the French Embassy in Germany.

You can find the program of the conference here (.pdf)

12th TERENO WORKSHOP:
FROM OBSERVATIONS TO MODELLING

About 70 experts met in Garmisch-Partenkirchen from 8 to 11 November 2022 for the 12th TERENO Workshop. The event, organised by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology’s Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-IFU), was held under the motto „From Observation to Modelling“.

With its annual workshop, the TERENO initiative offered participants an opportunity to exchange ideas with each other as well as with national and international partners. This was greatly appreciated all around, especially after the Corona break. After more than a decade of measurements, their integration into hydrological, biogeochemical and biodiversity modelling was presented and discussed in expert lectures and workshops. The focus was not only on measurements from the various TERENO observatories, but also from other observatories.

After the opening by Prof. Hans Peter Schmid, Director of IMK-IFU, and the report by Prof. Harry Vereecken on TERENO highlight activities in 2022, a broad spectrum of technical presentations was on the programme. Different approaches at site, catchment, regional and national scales were presented, such as the use of remote sensing and process-based models as well as AI applications for hydrological and bio-geochemical issues. The implementation of measurement and simulation results into decision support tools and products for stakeholders was also discussed, especially with regard to sustainable agriculture.

For the first time, the TERENO workshops hosted a cross-Helmholtz exchange between engineers, technicians and scientists, with keynote speeches and lively discussions on the topic of sensor data workflow and quality control and assurance. Due to the very positive experience, this is to become a fixed component of the annual TERENO workshops in the future.

During the workshop, the TERENO advisory board, composed of independent scientists, also met and praised the TERENO research, which in their view has been very successful.

 You can find the program here (pdf).

Joint conference of OZCAR and TERENO in 2021

By Heye Bogena and Isabelle Braud

The first OZCAR-TERENO international conference jointly organized by the French research network OZCAR and TERENO took place from October 5 – 7, 2021 in Strasbourg, France. About 190 on-site participants and more than 100 virtual participants attended the conference. In total, the conference featured more than 70 oral presentations and 100 poster presentations. All participants saw the hybrid conference as a great success.

The focus of the conference was research of the Critical Zone, the thin layer of our planet from the top of the vegetation canopy down to the groundwater. A major role in Critical Zone research is the multidisciplinary, highly instrumented observatories that are part of the TERENO and OZCAR networks. The conference was also supported from the European research infrastructure eLTER (Long-Term Ecosystem, Critical Zone and Socio-Ecological Research Infrastructure).

The conference program spans 17 main subject areas, spanning fundamental questions on exchange processes between soil, vegetation and atmosphere, the use of data, and new measurement methods and modeling approaches. Topics included how observatories take different approaches to long-term environmental and biodiversity observation, the integration of in-situ and remote sensing data, and innovative sensing methods for researching the Critical Zone.
The first OZCAR-TERENO conference marks the continuation of a series of international conferences hosted by TERENO – in 2014 in Bonn and 2018 in Berlin. In the future, the OZCAR-TERENO conference will take place every two years, alternating between France and Germany.

Successful start

Some 200 researchers came together in Strasbourg, France in early October 2021 to take part in the first OZCAR-TERENO international conference. Roughly 100 additional participants attended the conference online. Whether in person or virtually, more than 70 oral presentations and 100 poster presentations brought participants up to date on the latest developments in Critical Zone research.

The Critical Zone is the thin, outer layer of our planet – the Earth’s “skin” – from the top of the vegetation canopy down to the groundwater. The complex exchange processes in the Critical Zone – between rock, soil, water, atmosphere and living organisms – create the foundation for all life on Earth. Key to Critical Zone research are the multidisciplinary, highly instrumented observatories operated by the two hosts of the conference: TERENO and the French research infrastructure “Observatoires de la Zone Critique: Applications et Recherche”, a.k.a. OZCAR. The conference program covered 17 main subject areas – from fundamental questions on exchange processes between soil, vegetation and atmosphere, to the use of data and different approaches to long-term observation, to new measurement methods and modeling approaches.

Prof. Markus Reichstein from the Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, in his presentation “Extracting information from ecosystem time-series using a hybrid machine-learningmodelling approach” suggested that a stronger integration of observation and (mechanistic) models is needed for a better understanding of the Earth system. He proposes a fusion of machine learning and mechanistic modelling approaches into so-called hybrid modelling – a combination that could allow for better predictions and better understanding of the system, e.g. by inferring unobserved variables. In his presentation, Reichstein explained the concept using an example for the carbon
cycle at site level and one for the global water cycle. In the global water cycle example, a conceptual hydrological model builds the physical basis, where e.g. partitioning coefficients are estimated spatio-temporally with a deep learning approach* and a multi-task learning approach takes into account the multiple-constraints of evapotranspiration, terrestrial water storage, runoff and snow water equivalent.

Also promising were the new insights on bedrock water storage shared by Dr. Daniella Rempe from the University of Texas (Austin) in her presentation “The bedrock component of watershed storage: Advances and insights”. While dynamic water storage plays a central role in determining how watersheds respond to change, this role remains uncertain, largely because relatively little research has been conducted thus far on water storage in bedrock (as compared to research on soils and groundwater). Fortunately, this is changing thanks to recent advances in monitoring. Direct measurements indicate that bedrock water storage substantially contributes to transpiration fluxes, and also influences the timing and volume of groundwater recharge and streamflow. Furthermore, new studies indicate that plants access water stored in bedrock both within and outside of drought periods. “Together, these findings have consequences for how we conceptualize a wide array of Critical Zone processes,” says Rempe.

In her presentation “From Sensor to Real-Time Forecasts: Setup of a Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensor Network for Data Assimilation and Optimization of High-Resolution Real-Time Predictions of Soil Moisture”, Dr. Patrizia Ney from Forschungszentrum Jülich showed how forecasts can be generated from sensor data in real time. For their project known as ADAPTER (see also TERENO Newsletter 2021-1), Jülich researchers installed a permanent network of twelve hydrometeorological measurement systems at twelve selected agricultural field sites in Germany’s state of North RhineWestphalia. The measurement systems are fitted with a multifunction weather station as well as
with cosmic ray neutron sensors, which provide data on current soil moisture levels. The field measurements are also fed into a land-surface hydrological model, which can generate prototypicalforecasts for parameters such as plant-available water – in real time and for each specific parcel of land. The information is intended primarily to help farmers make their operations more sustainable and resilient against extreme weather, such as droughts.

The next OZCAR-TERENO conference is scheduled for 2023 in Germany.

OZCAR-TERENO conference
https://ozcartereno2020.sciencesconf.org
*
Basil Kraft et al. (2021). Towards hybrid modeling of the global hydrological cycle. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
(preprint: as of November 2021). Doi: 10.5194/hess-2021-211
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2021-211

TERENO workshop 2019: program and presentations

TERENO Workshop 2019 – GFZ Potsdam

1. Welcome – Reinhard Hüttl, GFZ

2. TERENO Status report 2019 – Harry Vereecken, FZJ

3. 2018 - A climatological view on an outstanding year – Florian Imbery DWD

4. The SMEAR: integrated research infrastructure concept and insights in its potential – Jaana Bäck, Uni Helsinki

5. Characteristics of surface evaporation – local and global perspectives – Dani Or, ETH Zürich

6. Effects of land-use change on land-atmosphere exchange processes in Indonesia – Alexander Knohl, Uni Göttingen

7. The coevolution of heat waves and soil moisture droughts: past, present, future – Luis Samaniego, UFZ

8. The year 2018 in a long-term perspective derived from documentary data – Rüdiger Glaser, Uni Freiburg

9. Application oriented monitoring of agrarian ecosystems and localization of droughts - a question of data integration – Christopher Conrad, Uni Halle-Wittenberg

10. Intra-seasonal wood growth and tree water use at the TERENO-NE temperate forest observatory – Daniel Balanzategui, GFZ

11. Land-atmosphere flux feedbacks to the drought 2018 as observed at Eddy-covariance sites – Heye Bogena, FZJ

12. AgriSens DEMMIN 4.0 - application of remote sensing technologies for digitization in crop production – Daniel Spengler, GFZ

13. Impact of climate change on grassland water, carbon and nitrogen cycling in the TERENO Pre-Alpine Observatory – Ralf Kiese, KIT

TERENO workshop 2017: program and presentations

Session 1: TERENO and invited Presentations

Welcome
Prof. Dr. HaPe Schmid, KIT

Report on TERENO status
Prof. Dr. Harry Vereecken, FZJ Jülich

Moses: a modular observation system for dynamic events
Ute Weber (HGF, EuU)

Cosmic Ray
Sascha Oswald (University Potsdam)

Session 2: Invited Presentations

Gas transfer velocities at water and rough-surface interfaces
Gabriel Katul (Duke University)

Quantifying Direct and Indirect Effects of Elevated CO2 on Ecosystem Response
Simone Fatichi (ETH)

WETSCAPES – from understanding to sustainable use of peatlands
Jürgen Kreyling (University Rostock)

Session 3: Invited Presentations

CODE-DE Copernicus Data and Exploitation Platform for Germany
Christoph Reck (DLR)

Analysis of concentration-discharge relationship of rivers in the TERENO observatory "Harz/Central German Lowland"
Andreas Musolff (UFZ)

Tackling measurements of evapotranspiration at the field scale with superconducting gravimeters
Marvin Reich (GFZ)

High ratio of methanogen/methanotroph abundance in rewetted peatlands with high methane emissions Baltic TRANSCOAST Projekt (GFZ)
Viktoria Unger (GFZ)

Session 4: Invited Presentations

Searching for Sinks and Sources in Land-Atmosphere Fluxes of CO2 and H2O
Anne Klosterhalfen (FZJ)

ScaleX: Multidisciplinary intensive campaigns in the TERENO Bavarian Alps/ pre-Alps Observatory
Matthias Zeeman (KIT)

Carbon, nitrogen and water fluxes of grassland soils in the TERENO Bavarian Alps/ pre-Alps Observatory
Benjamin Wolf (KIT)

TERENO workshop 2015: program and presentations

Session 1: TERENO and related projects

Welcome
Prof. Dr. Alberto Moreira, DLR Oberpfaffenhofen

Report on TERENO status
Prof. Dr. Harry Vereecken, FZJ Jülich

Helmholtz-Allianz “Remote Sensing and Earth System Dynamics
Prof. Dr. Irena Hajnsek, DLR Oberpfaffenhofen

ScaleX Project
Dr. Matthias Zeemann, KIT Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Session 2: Invited Presentations

Ground‐based remote sensing of precipitation for hydrologicalapplications
Prof. Dr. Remko Uijlenhoet, University Wageningen

SoilLandscapeModelling
Dr. Hans‐Jörg Vogel, UFZ Leipzig

Investigation of SMAP fusion algorithms with airborne active and passive L‐band microwave remote sensing
Dr. Carsten Montzka, FZJ Jülich

Session 3: Invited Presentations

Remote Sensing of land‐surface‐atmosphere interaction
Dr. Volker Wulfmeyer, Univerität Hamburg

Remote Sensing of soil properties and soil patterns
Dr. Sabine Chabrillat, GFZ Potsdam

TERENO International Conference 2014

September 29th - October 2nd 2014
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Germany

TERENO International Conference 2014

Presentations of TERENO International Conference 2014

4th COSMOS Workshop 2014

 A joint workshop of the COSMOS-project, TERENO, and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research.

COSMOS abbreviates the COsmic-ray Soil Moisture Observing System

Presentations of 4th COSMOS Workshop 2014

TERENO workshop 2012

Session 1: TERENO, angegliederte Projekte

Begrüßung
Reinhard, F. Hüttl, GFZ

1. TERENO General overview: Status, Network activities, Accessibility and International Integration
   H. Vereecken, FZJ
   
   
2. International Network Activities: Long-Term Observation System for Carbon Cylcle and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
   HaPe Schmid, KIT
   
   
3. TERENO-MED: Adaption to the Conditions of Water Scarcity
   Elisabeth Krueger, UFZ
   
   
4. TERENO SoilCan: The German Lysimeter Network in Operation
   Thomas Pütz, FZJ
   
   
5. Virtual Institute of Integrated Climate and Landscape Evolution Analyses (ICLEA)
   A. Brauer, GFZ
   
   
6. Trace Gas Exchange in the Earth-Atmosphere System on Multiple Scales (TEAM)
   Torsten Sachs, GFZ
   
   
7. Entwicklung und Validierung eines Systems zur Messung der räumlichen Verteilung atmosphärischer Spurengase
   Mike Schwank, GFZ

Session 2: Koordinations-Teams

1. Datenmanagement
   Ralf Kunkel, FZJ, Jens Klump, GFZ
   
   
2. Geoarchive
   Gerd Helle, GFZ
   
   
3. Pedosphäre
   Peter Burauel, FZJ
   
   
4. Atmosphäre
   HaPe Schmid, KIT
   
   
5. Hydrosphäre
   Karsten Rinke, UFZ
   
   
6. Biosphäre
   Cornelia Baessler, Mark Frenzel, UFZ
   
   
7. Umwelt-Monitoring
   Irena Hajnsek, DLR
   
   
8. Modellierung
   Olaf Kolditz, UFZ

Session 3: Koordinations-Teams

1. Concepts and Objectives of Critical Zone Observatories CZO
   Jörg Völkel, TU München
   
   
2. The value of natural archives for understanding past climate change and human impact
   Bas van Geel, University of Amsterdam
   
   
3. Advancing Remote-Sensing Methods for Monitoring Geophysical Parameters
   Christian Mätzler, University of Bern
   
   
4. GPR in Hydrology
   Kurt Roth, Heidelberg University

Session 4: Neue Themen in TERENO

1. A Quality Assessment Scheme for Long-term Eddy-Covariance Measurements
   Matthias Mauder
   
   
2. Comprehensive monitoring of environmental isotopes across the TERENO observatories
   Stephan Weise, UFZ
   
   
3. In-Situ soil moisture and its relation to remotely sensed retrievals
   Heye Bogena, FZJ
   
   
4. Gewässer – bedeutende Elemente der Landschaft Nordost-Deutschlands
   Mark Gessner

Winter School 2012

Winter School on the Remote Sensing of Precipitation Using Microwave Links: Techniques and Applications 2012 (.pdf)

TERENO Workshop 17/18.1.2011

Überblick TERENO Workshop 2011
H. Vereecken, H. Bogena: TERENO General Overview –Status, Network Activities, Accessibility and International Integration

TERENO - SOILCan
T. Pütz, R. Kiese, S. Zacharias, E. Borg, E. Priesack, H. Gerke, H. Papen, U. Wollschläger, M. Schwank, G. v. Unold & H. VereeckenTERENO Network Activity SOILCan – A large scale climate change experiment

TERENO - ICOS
HaPe Schmid: International Network Activity ICOS: Long-Term Observation System for Carbon Cycle and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

CT Data management
CT Data Management: Management and publishing of TERENO data from distributed data bases

CT Pedosphere
Erik Borg, Horst Gerke, Sybille Itzerott, Ralf Kiese, Julia Krümmelbein, Jean-Charles Munch, Hans Papen, Eckart Priesack, Thomas Pütz, Thomas Raab, Holger Rupp, Mike Schwank, Jan Schwarzbauer, Jan Siemens, Michael Sommer, Hans-Jörg Vogel, Gerd Welp, Ute Wollschläger, Steffen Zacharias: CT Pedosphere - Peter Burauel and colleagues

CT Atmosphere
HaPe Schmid: CT Atmosphere

CT Biosphere
Mark Frenzel, Cornelia Baeßler, Mathias Scholz, Stefan Klotz: Coordination Team (CT) Biosphere

CT Environmental Sensing
Irena Hajnsek & Members of CT Environmental Sensing: RemoteSensingforEnvironmental Applications

TERENO Workshop 2011 CT Palaeoclimate.pdf
A. Brauer, I. Heinrich, K. Kaiser: TERENO CT Palaeoclimate - Extending the Time Concept

CT Modelling
H.J. Hendricks Franssen, C. Montzka, W. Kessomkiat, L. Weihermüller, A. Graf, H. Bogena, and H. Vereecken: Data assimilation using measurements from TERENO infrastructure

Hydrogeophysics
Hydrogeophysics in TERENO

CT Hydrosphere
CT Hydrosphere S. Zacharias, K. Rinke Heye Bogena, Jan Vanderborght, Sander Huisman–FZJ Luis Samaniego, Michael Rode, Ute Wollschläger, Christian Schmidt, Andreas Musolff–UFZ Theresa Blume –GFZ, Gunnar Lischeid–ZALF Harald Kunstmann –KIT, Eckart Priesack–HMGU

The Rollesbroich site is located in the low mountain range “Eifel” near the German-Belgium border and covers the area of the small Kieselbach catchment (40 ha) with altitudes ranging from 474 to 518 m.a.s.l.. The climate is temperate maritime with a mean annual air temperature and precipitation of 7.7 °C and 1033 mm, respectively, for the period from 1981 to 2001 (North Rhine-Westphalian State Environment Agency).

The soils are dominated by (stagnic) Cambisols and Stagnosols on Devonian shales with occasional sandstone inclusions that are covered by a periglacial solifluction clay–silt layer. The grassland vegetation is dominated by perennial ryegrass (Loliumperenne) and smooth meadow grass (Poapratensis).

In spring 2011 an eddy covariance station (50.621°N, 6.304°E,515 m a.s.l.) was installed at the border of two fields of grassland (5.8 and 7.8 ha) within the study site. Management of both fields is typical for the low mountain range of the Eifel region with one fertilizer application and three cuts per year. The area within the fetch of the eddy covariance tower is relatively flat with slopes ranging between 0.35° and 3.12°. The station is equipped with a CSAT3 sonic anemometer and LI7500 gas analyser. Besides flux measurements and typical climate parameters (radiation, air temperature, air humidity, soil moisture, soil temperature etc.) also the plant height and farming activities are recorded.

The study site is highly instrumented. All components of the water balance (e.g. precipitation, evapotranspiration, runoff, soil water content) are continuously monitored using state-of-the-art instrumentation, including weighable lysimeters, runoff gauges, cosmic-ray soil moisture sensors, a wireless sensor network that monitors soil temperature, and soil moisture at 189 locations in different depths (5, 20 and 50 cm) throughout the study site (Qu et al., 2013; Qu et al., 2014; Qu et al., 2015). Periodically also different chamber measurements were made to access soil or plant gas exchange (Borchard et al., 2015).

To access the homogeneity of the study site as well as the accuracy of the eddy covariance method a roving eddy covariance station with identical set up was operated in different distances (8-20 km) to the main station in the period between 2011 and 2013 (Post et al., 2015).

Regularly updated data of the site can be achieved at the following address:
http://teodoor.icg.kfa-juelich.de/ibg3searchportal/index.jsp

Publications referring to the Rollesbroich study site:

Borchard, N., Schirrmann, M., von Hebel, C., Schmidt, M., Baatz, R., Les Firbank, L., Vereecken, H., Herbst, M., 2015: Spatio-temporal drivers of soil and ecosystem carbon fluxes at field scale in an upland grassland in Germany. AGEE, 211, 84-93.

Post, H., Hendricks Franssen, H.J., Graf, A., Schmidt, M., Vereecken, H., 2015: Uncertainty analysis of eddy covariance CO2 flux measurements for different EC tower distances using an extended two-tower approach. Biogeosciences, 12, 1205–1221.

Gebler, S., Hendricks Franssen, H.-J., Pütz, T., Post, H., Schmidt, M., Vereecken, H., 2015: Actual evapotranspiration and precipitation measured by lysimeters: A comparison with eddy covariance and tipping bucket. Hydrol.Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 2145–2161.

Qu, W., H.R. Bogena, J.A. Huisman and Vereecken (2013): Calibration of a novel low-cost soil water content sensor based on a ring oscillator. Vadose Zone J., 12(2), doi:10.2136/vzj2012.0139.

Qu, W., H.R. Bogena., J.A. Huisman, G. Martinez Garcia, Y. Pachepsky and H. Vereecken (2014): Effects of soil hydraulic properties on the spatial variability of soil water content: evidence from sensor network data and inverse modeling. Vadose Zone J., 13(12), doi:10.2136/vzj2014.07.0099.

Qu, W., H.R. Bogena., J.A. Huisman, J. Vanderborght, M. Schuh, E. Priesack and H. Vereecken (2015): Predicting sub-grid variability of soil water content from basic soil information. Geophys.Res.Lett. 42: 789–796, doi:10.1002/2014GL062496.

Qu, W., H.R. Bogena, J. A. Huisman, M. Schmidt, A. Weuthen, B. Schilling and H. Vereecken (2015): The integrated water balance and soil data set of the Rollesbroich hydrological observatory. Submittedto Earth System Science Data.

The Wüstebach study site is located in the German low mountain range within the borders of the Eifel National Park near the German-Belgian border. The site covers the area (38.5 ha) of the small catchment of the Wüstebach, with altitudes ranging from 595 to 628 m a.s.l.. It represents the typical, but not natural, spruce forest vegetation type of the region with Norway Spruce (Piceaabis L.) as prevailing tree species.

The mean annual precipitation at the test site is 1220 mm for the period 1979 to 1999. The geological subsurface is built up by fractioned Devonian shales with occasional sandstone inclusions, covered by a periglacial solifluction layer of about 1–2 m thickness. In the valley Gleysols and Histosols (half-bogs) have formed under the influence of groundwater, while hillslopes are dominated by Cambisols and Planosols.

During late summer/early autumn of 2013, trees were almost completely removed in an area of 9 ha by the national park forest management in order to promote the natural regeneration of near-natural deciduous forest from spruce monoculture forest. Strong effects are expected on soil, water quality, exchange processes and composition of flora and fauna due to the imposed disturbance that will provide a unique insight into the recovery and regeneration of forest systems.

In order to monitor the matter and energy balance changes associated with the partial clear-felling, various continuously logging instruments were installed in the catchment, starting from 2008. The measurement infrastructure now comprises among others several weather stations, a flume, weighable lysimeters, cosmic-ray soil moisture sensors, and a wireless soil sensor network (Graf et al., 2014; Bogena et al., 2015).

The most outstanding installation is the 38 m high eddy covariance tower (50.504°N, 6.331°E, 610 m a.s.l.) that was set up in a still forested eastern part of the study site. The measurements that started in 2009 include fluxes of matter, energy and momentum, profiles of temperature, humidity and radiation and much more. Currently the tower is equipped with a CSAT3 anemometer and a LI7500 gas analyser, a CO2 profile with a closed path gas analyser is in the planning stage.

By using tower measurements of latent heat flux in combination with runoff, precipitation and soil moisture measurements, a good closure of the pre-clear-felling catchment was achieved.
Immediately after clear-felling a second small eddy covariance tower (50.503°N, 6.335°E, 667 m a.s.l.) was installed at the newly created forest clearing to observe its exchange processes especially in comparison with the tower measurements.

Regularly updated data of the site can be achieved at following address:

http://teodoor.icg.kfa-juelich.de/ibg3searchportal/index.jsp

Publications that refer to the Wüstebach study site:

Baatz R., H. Bogena, H.-J. Hendricks Franssen, J.A. Huisman, C. Montzka and H. Vereecken (2015). Development of an empirical vegetation correction for soil water content quantification using cosmic-ray probes. Water Resour. Res., 51, DOI: 10.1002/2014WR016443

Bogena, H.R., R. Bol, N. Borchard, N. Brüggemann, B. Diekkrüger, C. Drüe, J. Groh, N. Gottselig, S.J. Huisman, A. Lücke, A. Missong, B. Neuwirth, T. Pütz, M. Schmidt, M. Stockinger, W. Tappe, L. Weihermüller, I. Wiekenkamp and H. Vereecken (2015): A terrestrial observatory approach for the integrated investigation of the effects of deforestation on water, energy, and matter fluxes. Science China: Earth Sciences 58(1): 61-75, doi: 10.1007/s11430-014-4911-7.

Bogena, H.R., J.A. Huisman, R. Baatz, R., H.-J. Hendricks Franssen and H. Vereecken (2013): Accuracy of the cosmic-ray soil water content probe in humid forest ecosystems: The worst case scenario. Water Resour. Res., 49 (9): 5778-5791, DOI: 10.1002/wrcr.20463.

Cornelissen, T., B. Diekkrueger and H. Bogena (2013): Using HydroGeoSphere in a forested catchment: How does spatial resolution influence the simulation of spatio-temporal soil moisture variability? Procedia Environmental Sciences, 19: 198-207, doi: 10.1016/j.proenv.2013.06.022.

Fang, Z., H.R. Bogena, S. Kollet, J. Koch and H. Vereecken (2015): Spatio-temporal validation of long-term 3D hydrological simulations of a forested catchment using empirical orthogonal functions and wavelet coherence analysis. J. Hydrol., doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.08.011.

Graf, A., H. R. Bogena, C. Drüe, H. Hardelauf, T. Pütz, G. Heinemann, Vereecken, H., 2014: Spatiotemporal relations between water budget components and soil water content in a forested tributary catchment, Water Resour. Res., 50, 4837–4857, http://doi.org/doi:10.1002/ 2013WR014516.

Qu, W., H.R. Bogena., J.A. Huisman, J. Vanderborght, M. Schuh, E. Priesack and H. Vereecken (2015): Predicting sub-grid variability of soil water content from basic soil information. Geophys.Res.Lett. 42: 789–796, doi:10.1002/2014GL062496.

Stockinger, M., H. Bogena, A. Lücke, B. Diekkrüger, M. Weiler and H. Vereecken (2014): Seasonal Soil Moisture Patterns Control Transit Time Distributions in a Forested Headwater Catchment. Water Resour. Res., 50, doi:10.1002/2013WR014815.

Stockinger, M.P., A. Lücke, J.J. McDonnell, B. Diekkrüger, H. Vereecken and H.R. Bogena (2015): Interception effects on stable isotope driven streamwater transit time estimates. Geophys. Res. Lett., 42: 5299–5308, doi:10.1002/ 2015GL064622.

Rosenbaum, U., H.R. Bogena, M. Herbst, J.A. Huisman, T.J. Peterson, A. Weuthen, A. Western and Vereecken, H. (2012): Seasonal and event dynamics of spatial soil moisture patterns at the small catchment scale. Water Resour. Res., 48(10), W10544, doi:10.1029/2011WR011518.

Bogena, H.R., M. Herbst, J.A. Huisman, U. Rosenbaum, A. Weuthen and H. Vereecken (2010): Potential of wireless sensor networks for measuring soil water content variability. Vadose Zone J., 9 (4): 1002-1013, doi:10.2136/vzj2009.0173.

Background

For various reasons the radar rainfall measurement is of particular high importance: firstly, the need for comprehensive measurements in the face of recurring partly remarkable rainfall in the region and the intensive use of large hydroelectric power. Secondly, the point measurements of the often few ground precipitation collectors allow estimates of the areal precipitation with limited reliability. Especially in high altitudes ground measurements are affected by wind errors. Finally large amounts of precipitation imlicate risks such as floodings, which need to be predicted in advance. Reliable, early forecast of heavy rainfall is of crucial importance for the mitigation of flooding.

Measuring principle

The precipitation radar transmits pulsed microwaves at a frequency of 9.8 GHz (ca. 3 cm wavelength). The waves are emitted with a capacity of up to 200 kW and a pulse width between 0.2 µs and 2 µs. They are partially reflected by water drops while they pass through the atmosphere. These reflections are received and evaluated. The more raindrops, snowflakes, ice crystals or hail a cloud contains, the more microwave radiation is reflected. From the time difference between the transmitted and reflected radiation the distance between the rain drops to the radar is calculated. The reflection intensity is used to calculate the precipitation rate. The Sophienhöhe head over tailings dump of the Hambach open pit surrounded by flat land about 200 m. This guarantees a very small perturbation of the measurement signal right into the Eifel region. This outstanding position makes it possible to carry out precipitation measurements even at very low inclination angles, without disturbing influences of elevations (hills, buildings, poles, etc.).

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