As part of the SoMMet research activities, the CRNS (Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensing) sensor, developed by project partner Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi), was installed at the Apulian Tavoliere test field site operated by partner Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) on 4 April 2023. This novel sensor W-PIE, which is shaped like a wedding pie, consists of a combination of different detectors that are sensitive to different energy regions of naturally occurring neutrons (a concept similar to few-channel neutron spectrometry). Based on long-term monitoring of neutron signals, soil moisture dynamics in a large area around the sensor can be inferred according to the CRNS method principle. The W-PIE sensor was used at the Apulian Tavoliere site for several months, and the recorded datasets are being compared with data from point-scale soil moisture sensors as well as satellite-derived soil moisture data.

Further details on the W-PIE neutron detector can be found in scientific literature:

• https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-022-02945-8
• https://doi.org/10.1093/rpd/ncac203