Soil Moisture
COsmic-ray Soil Moisture Observing System (COSMOS) probes provide a continuous estimate of soil moisture over an area of about 30 hectares. This is achieved by counting neutrons that are produced from cosmic rays passing through the earth’s atmosphere, with the incoming intensity of neutrons primarily controlled by water molecules in the top 10 to 50 cm of soil.
Three probes have been installed at the Brigalow Catchment Study in collaboration with CSIRO Land and Water, who are working with the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) and the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) to develop an Australian cosmic-ray neutron soil moisture monitoring network, known affectionately as CosmOZ. Further details on the method used to calibrate probes and estimate soil moisture can be found on the CosmOz website.
