DAY 1 | TUESDAY 29 SEPTEMBER
08:30 - 09:00 | Registration
09:00 - 09:30 | Welcome by Local Organizer, G. Baroni
1.1 - CRNS Networks and Operational Monitoring
Time
Title - Speaker(s)
09:30 - 09:50
ISMON - Advancing Soil Moisture Monitoring in Ireland
by Caren Jarmain, Katya Dimitrova-Petrova, Klara Finkele, Haleh Karbala Ali, Saji Varghese
09:50 - 10:10
The Danish national soil moisture network
by Mie Andreasen, Majken C. Looms, Ida Seidenfaden, Jacob Kidmose, Karsten Høgh Jensen, Torben Sonnenborg
10:10 - 10:30
Emilia-Romagna CRNS monitoring network
by Cinzia Alessandrini, Alessandro Pirola, Villiam Zanni Bertelli, Andrea Pasquali
10:30 - 11:30 | Coffee break + poster + sponsor
11:30 - 11:50
Network-wide assessment of soil water content calibration and sensitivity to biomass proxies using cosmic-ray neutron sensing in the Roaring Fork Basin, Colorado
by Sophia M. Becker, Gwendolyn E. Davies, Trenton E. Franz, Tyler D. Lampard, Todd G. Caldwell
11:50 - 12:10
Non-destructive quantification of biomass water equivalent for improved cosmic-rayneutron sensor calibration
by Špela Srdoč, Maja Podgornik, Rozalija Cvejić.
12:10 - 12:30
Scaling Up Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensing for Landscape Water Management: Practical Insights from Global Deployments
by Hami Said Ahmed, Gerd Dercon
12:30 - 14:00 | Lunch + poster + sponsor
1.2 - CRNS for Soil Hydrology and Beyond
14:00 - 14:20
The Alento focal point for agro-environmental research in the Mediterranean: cosmic-ray neutron sensing bridging long-term observations and hypothesis-driven experiments
by Paolo Nasta, Nunzio Romano
14:20 - 14:40
Comparison of CRNS and local soil moisture measurements in two forest sites and in a vineyard in NW Italy
by Stefano Ferraris, Aurora Olivero, Alessio Gentile, Davide Gisolo, Davide Canone, Giorgio Capello, Marcella Biddoccu, Marco Cauduro
14:40 - 15:00
Using CRNS to Assess Groundwater Recharge at PoSMO: Evaluating Uncertainty from Soil and Vegetation Heterogeneity
by Lena Scheiffele, Matthias Munz, Till Francke, Sascha Oswald
15:00 - 15:20
From Neutrons to Soil Hydrology: Informing Mechanistic Vadose Zone Models with Cosmic-Ray Sensing
by Giuseppe Brunetti, Jirka Simunek
15:20 - 15:40
Burial dating of hominine fossils at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site (COHWHS) in South Africa
by Benedetto Giacobbe, Sara Rabaglia
15:40 - 16:30 | Coffee break + poster + sponsor
16:30 - 17:30 | Round table
19:30 | Dinner at Casa Azzoguidi, Via S. Nicolò, 2c - Bologna
DAY 2 | WEDNESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER
08:00 - 08:30 | Departure by bus (meet at 8:00, departure at 8:30)
2.1 - CRNS and remote sensing
Time
Title - Speaker(s)
09:40 - 10:00
From Field-Scale Soil Moisture Monitoring to NISAR Validation: Lessons Learned from the Norwegian CRNS Network
by Zelalem T. Mengistu; Heidi A. Grønsten, Eivind Halvorsen
10:00 - 10:20
Field-scale soil moisture and irrigation estimation with Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data
by Martina Natali, Sara Modanesi, Domenico De Santis, Gabrielle De Lannoy, Susan Steele-Dunne, Alessio Domeneghetti, Christian Massari
10:20 - 10:40
Soil Water Content Harmonization Across Temporal and Spatial Scales
by Sadra Emamalizadeh, T. Howson, Riccardo Mazzoleni, P. Vincent, J.G. Evans, Gabriele Baroni
10:40 - 11:10 | Coffee break
2.2 - CRNS and agricultural applications
11:10 - 11:30
Understanding CRNS Responses to Irrigation Through Neutron Transport Simulations: Towards Decision Support Applications
by Cosimo Brogi, Felix Nieberding, Lena Scheiffele, Andre Daccache, Martin Schrön, Haojin Zhao, Heye R. Bogena
11:30 - 11:50
Soil moisture across contrasting fi elds: the challenge of sensing Mediterranean agricultural mosaics with CRNS
by Leticia Gaspar, Trenton E. Franz, María Concepción Ramos, Borja Latorre, Ana Navas
11:50 - 12:10
Modern applications of Cosmic Rays Neutron Sensors to Agriculture: the experience of Finapp
by Luca Stevanato, Stefano Gianessi, Gianmarco Cracco, Barbara Biasuzzi, Marcello Lunardon and Enrico Gazzola
12:10 - 12:30
Integrating cosmic-ray neutron sensing with plant and atmospheric monitoring in micro-irrigated vineyards
by Riccardo Mazzoleni, Beng Umali, Gabriele Baroni
12:30 - 14:30 | Lunch at Agrilocanda Val Campotto + visit at Saiarino
2.3 - SNOW and extreme environments
14:30 - 14:50
Pushing the limits of CRNS (desert, arctic, roving, airborne)
by Martin Schrön, Nurit Agam, Daniel Altdorff, Peter Dietrich, Lasse Hertle, Markus Köhli, Nora Krebs, Solveig Landmark, Sascha Oswald, Daniel Rasche, Paul Schattan, Steffen Zacharias
14:50 - 15:10
Network-wide parameterization for estimating snow water equivalent through cosmic-ray neutron sensors in the Italian Alps
by Mario Gallarate, Nicola Colombo, Enrico Gazzola, Mauro Valt, Christian Ronchi, Luca Lanteri, Roberto Dinale, Rudi Nadalet, Stefano Ferraris, Alessio Gentile, Davide Gisolo, Michele Freppaz, and Fiorella Acquaotta
15:10 - 15:30
Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensing in Mountain Regions: Where high potential for hydrological monitoring meets particular uncertainty
by Paul Schattan, Nora Krebs and Benjamin Fersch
15:30 - 15:50
Evaluating an Empirical CRNS Calibration for Snow Water Equivalent Across Pre-Alpine and High-Alpine Sites
by Benjamin Fersch, Nora Krebs, Paul Schattan
15:50 - 16:10
Cosmic-ray neutron production and propagation inside snow packs characterized by multi-particle Monte Carlo simulations
by Jannis Weimar, Paul Schattan, Rebecca Gugerli, Benjamin Fersch, Darin Desilets, Martin Schrön, Markus Köhli, Ulrich Schmidt
16:10 - 16:40 | Coffee break
16:40 - 17:40 | Round table
17:40 | Return by bus
DAY 3 | THURSDAY 1 OCTOBER
3.1 - Sensors, Sensitivities and Monte Carlo simulations
Time
Title - Speaker(s)
09:00 - 09:20
From metrology labs to the field: Validating Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensors (CRNS) within the SoMMet framework
by M. Ángeles Millán-Callado, Roberto Méndez Villafañe, Buthaina A. S. Adam, Pavol Blahušiak, Augusto Di Chicco, Mirco Dietz, Markus Köhli, Benjamin Lutz, Marcel Reginatto, Jaroslav Šolc, Zdenek Vykydal, Jannis Weimar, Miroslav Zboril
09:20 - 09:40
Current developments in environmental Bonner sphere measurement
by Jonas Marach, Marcel Reginatto, Miroslav Zboril, Mario Albert, Jannis Weimar, Markus Köhli, Peter Grosse
09:40 - 10:00
A tool for community-driven standardization of CRNS sensor sensitivities
by Till Francke
10:00 - 10:20
Refined and Revised: CRNS Footprint and Intensity Relation
by Markus Köhli
10:20 - 11:00 | Coffee break + poster + sponsor
3.2 - Data Processing and Software
11:00 - 11:20
Incoming Flux Correction for Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensing
by Lasse Hertle, Fraser Baird, Julia Boike, Peter Dietrich, Enrico Gazzola, Bernd Heber, Nora Krebs, Nicholas Larsen, David McJannet, Ombretta Pinazza, Daniel Rasche, Francesco Riggi, Paul Schattan, Ulrich Schmidt, Michael Walter, Pauli Väisänen, Gary Womack, Steffen Zacharias, Martin Schrön
11:20 - 11:40
Improving the Incoming Neutron Flux Correction: a COSMOS-UK Case Study
by Jonathan Evans, Magdalena Szczykulska, Tim Howson and the COSMOS-UK Team
11:40 - 12:00
Spatial Variability of the Barometric Coefficient in Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensing: Implications for Improved Soil Moisture Estimation
by Patrick Davies, Roland Baatz, Paul Schattan, Emmanuel Quansah, Leonard K. Amekudzi, Heye R. Bogena
12:00 - 12:20
Balancing Signal Purity and Count Support in Mobile CRNS Applications
by Daniel Altdorff
12:20 - 12:40
Neptoon: an extensible processing framework for cosmic-ray neutron sensors, from operational monitoring to methodological research
by Louis Trinkle, Markus Köhli, Daniel Power, Till Francke, Rafael Rosolem, Fredo Erxleben, Steffen Zacharias, Martin Schrön
12:40 - 14:00 | Lunch + poster + sponsor
3.3 - CRNS and Gamma-Rays
14:00 - 14:20
The combined use of cosmic-ray neutron detection and gamma-ray spectrometry
by Majken C. Looms, Torben Sonnenborg, Steven Van der Veeke, Han Limburg, Ronald Koomans, Karsten H. Jensen, Mie Andreasen
14:20 - 14:40
Evaluating Gamma-Ray Spectrometry to Extend Soil Moisture Monitoring into Ireland’s Wetter Landscapes
by Eve Daly, Caoimhe Mannion, Caren Jarmain, Klara Finkele, Katya Dimitrova Petrova, Haleh Karbala Ali, Saji Vergese
14:40 - 15:00
Combining CRNS and Gamma Rays sensing in agricultural fields
by Marco Benfenati, Francesco Vinzio, Gabriele Baroni
15:00 - 15:20
A common biomass correction method improves soil moisture estimation from bulk and energy-resolved gamma radiation
by Sonia Akter, Johan A. Huisman, Heye R. Bogena
15:20 - 16:00 | Coffee break + poster + sponsor
3.3 - CRNS discussion
16:00 - 16:20
Why, when and how could we be more pragmatic in applying cosmic-ray neutron sensing
by Sascha Oswald, Sabine Attinger
16:20 - 16:40
Cosmic-ray neutron detection in Europe and beyond - The European eLTER initiative, the eLTER CRNS protocol and the COSMOS Reference document
by Steffen Zacharias, Martin Schrön
16:40 - 17:40 | Round table
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
29 September and 1st October 2026
Integration of soil moisture measurements into the observation network of the German Meteorological Service – tests and adjustments to enable a network of operational in-situ- and Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensing measurements
by Leonhard Hufnagl, Mario Albert, Mathias Herbst, Wolfgang Kurtz, Jan Lenkeit
The Brandenburg CRNS Network: from Neutron Counts to Operational Soil-Moisture Products and Soil-Water Modelling
by Jakob Terschlüsen, Till Francke, Maik Heistermann, Sascha E. Oswald
MOWAX: Monitoring and Modelling Concept as a Basis for the Assessment of the Water Budget of Saxony
by Felix Thomas, Friedrich Boeing, Solveig Landmark, Rebekka Lange, Daniel Altdorff, Jan Bumberger, Andreas Marx, Peter Dietrich and Martin Schrön
COSMOS-UK – network restructuring and future opportunities
by Phil Vincent and Jonathan Evans
Integrating CRNS in a flexible drought monitoring
by Francesco Vinzio, Marco Benfenati, Gabriele Baroni, Luca Roffia
Assessing field-scale soil moisture using cosmic-ray neutron sensing and point-scale sensors in an agricultural field in Belgium
by Atina Umi Kalsum, Marit Hendrickx, Jan Vanderborght, Pieter Janssens, Jan Diels
Dynamic Harmonisation and Processing of Diverse CRNS Datasets: A Metadata-Driven Approach
by Merlin Schiel, Till Francke, Jakob Terschlüsen, Sascha E. Oswald
On soil sampling design and CRNS calibration
by Marco Benfenati, Francesco Vinzio, Gabriele Baroni
Development of an inversion framework for spatially resolved soil moisture estimation from cosmic ray neutron sensing data
by Viola Cioffi, Andrea Zunino, Alessandro Ghirotto, Sebastian Uhlemann, Giorgio Cassiani