Zur Bewertung von In-situ-Sensoren bei der Einschätzung von Prozessabläufen im Geomonitoring.

For the Research Centre of Post-Mining (FZN) at the Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola University (THGA) in Bochum, geomonitoring is a multi-level approach to environmental monitoring with a focus on post-mining activities. In situ, a precise understanding of natural processes, e.g. the condition of groundwater, water bodies, soil or vegetation, is developed – usually through mapping, laboratory analyses and installed sensors. The goal is to later be able to derive an areawide statement on these processes through the analysis of satellite data. In order to be able to transfer the process understanding gained to the satellite data, an unmanned aerial vehicle is used. This article highlights an essential aspect of the in situ component. The denser the coverage with sensors, the more reliably an area-wide statement about drones and satellites can succeed. This is why low-cost temperature and soil moisture sensors and loggers are also used in the FZN research projects. In the “Climate Change – Management and Monitoring (C2M2)” project, funded by the Emschergenossenschaft-Lippeverband (EGLV), such sensors could be evaluated in several tests. The article presents initial results aimed at mapping an annual cycle of soil moisture with such inexpensive sensors. As a result, no physically correct measurements can be achieved with these sensors, but they are able to show patterns in processes and, for example, map such annual cycles. With the appropriate interpretation, they can thus deliver a contribution to understand processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]