Low Cost Neutron and Muon Detectors for Soil Moisture Monitoring

Abstract

Figure 1: Summary of the Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensing (CRNS) technique. Since cosmogenic neutrons are more likely to be absorbed in the soil when hydrogen content is high, the number of neutrons detected by a passive neutron monitor placed above ground is inversely correlated with the local hydrogen content in a 200 m radial area, and down to approximately 30 cm soil depth.