The characterisation of catchments both in terms of structures and processes is often a fundamental requirement to understand and model hydrological processes in detail. To fill knowledge gaps, gaining data from highly equipped hydrological earth observatories as well as artificial catchments can be of large importance. The exploitation of observation techniques and technical installations at a low level of structural and process disturbances is difficult but necessary. Remote sensing can play a major role in accessing spatial and temporal data in such efforts. The design, optimization and coupling of advanced measurement techniques and set-ups are crucial to get the best understanding.
The design and operation of Terrestrial Earth Observatories have much in common with the hydrologically focussed artificial catchments, notably in terms of the monitoring methods und the underlying scientific hypotheses.
The oral and poster session aims at the formation of a forum for scientists from different disciplines to share experiences on these problems. The session’s proceedings shall be published in a guest-edited Special Issue of a relevant peer-reviewed International Journal. We solicit contributions to the following topics (but not limited to):
• Design of artificial catchments
• Hydrological network design at different scales
• Design of monitoring networks at low disturbance of catchment structures and processes, integration of spatial and temporal datasets
• Strategies for an iterative loop of “mapping, monitoring, and modelling”
• Transformative technologies for continuous measurements in time and space of soil and hydrologic properties, especially in situ sensors, real-time monitoring and remote sensing systems
• Quantifying of soil structures and monitoring of diverse soil functions at different scales
• Innovative approaches