Quantification of soil properties for analyzing surface processes using spectroscopy and laser scanning [Elektronische Ressource] / eingereicht von Sören-Nils Haubrock

Sören-Nils Haubrock

Informations

• Publié par: humboldt-universitat_zu_berlin
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 26
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 12 Mo

Extrait

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin – Geographisches Institut
Dissertation
Quantification of soil properties for
analyzing surface processes using
spectroscopy and laser scanning
zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades
doctor rerum naturalium
eingereicht von
Sören-Nils Haubrock
an der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschafltiche Fakultät II
Dekan: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Coy
Gutachter:
Prof. Dr. Patrick Hostert
Prof. Dr. Hermann Kaufmann
Prof. Dr. Eyal Ben-Dor
eingereicht: 8. Dezember 2008
Datum der Promotion: 23. April 2009

Acknowledgments
This thesis is the result of several years of research performed at the German Research
Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). There are many people that supported me in various ways,
but special thanks go to my colleagues, friends and family for their very own contribution
to this work.
Hermann Kaufmann and Patrick Hostert, for their support, encouragement and patience
during the last years. Charly, thank you for giving me the opportunity to find my way back
to the research community after years working in the industry. You offered me a perfect
framework for developing my scientific skills while making best use of my former
experiences. You made working in your lab not only interesting, but also enjoyable, not
least due to your Bavarian brand mark. Patrick, you were an invaluable help for improving
the science in my work, providing me the opportunity to work with your team and by
helping me in organizing the formal matters. When I needed your support, I could always
rely on your competency, open mind and confidence.
Eyal Ben-Dor for interesting discussions with you in Warsaw and at GFZ, for asking
challenging questions about my work and for developing interesting ideas with me for
future publications. I thank you for your uncomplicated and spontaneous consent to be
reviewer of this thesis.
Sabine Chabrillat. From the first day on that I worked for this project, you were an
excellent coach for me, always taking your time and giving me the support that I needed to
improve the way I was doing research, while leaving me the opportunities to „cut my own
path“ through the world of science. Even in those difficult moments where progress was
not visible, I was sure that I could count on your support. Working with you was not only
successful, I also enjoyed the time together at conferences, workshops and during field
trips. Sabine, you probably know how important your role for this thesis is. Thank you so
much!
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Matthias Kuhnert and Christine Lemmnitz for the great collaboration within this
interdisciplinary project. Thank you both for your willingness to share resources and
results as well as for the time you spent with me collecting data, testing and improving our
methods. Matthias, it was a pleasure to work with you and to share successful and difficult
moments. Your fascination about doing research out in the field, your ideas and motivation
deeply impressed me. Thank you also for introducing me into the culinary culture of Lower
Lusatia. It was great fun to work with you!
My colleagues from the remote sensing lab at GFZ Karl Segl, Sylvia Magnussen, Jan
Anderssohn, Sibylle Itzerott, Daniel Spengler, Hans-Ulrich Wetzel, Mathias Bochow, Nicole
Richter and Sigrid Rössner for always being welcome when I needed your help or a cup of
coffee. Sylvia and Karl for your invaluable and prompt technical support and for your
assistance with the more complex software systems whenever needed. Jan for the
enjoyable time that we shared in our office and for the various offers to improve my sailing
experience on your boat – I’m sure that we will finally manage to spend some time on the
water. Daniel for the work together in the laboratory and field and the support in analysing
various datasets. Sibylle for your ideas, discussions and openness when I was struggling to
justify new and uncommon ideas. Uli, I appreciate your open-minded character and
commitment for your colleagues. And I am still impressed by your indescribable historical
knowledge that you shared with us junior scientists during numerous walks to the canteen.
Ramona Baran, Katrin Zabel and Steffen Leider for your work in laboratory and field with
the laser scanner, and especially for carrying out large parts of the intense data processing
tasks.
Heiko Thoss, Andreas Güntner and Benjamin Creutzfeld from the Hydrology lab at GFZ
for the efficient and diversified work together in the field and for having a great time
together during and beyond office hours.
Doris Dransch for your indefatigable support allowing me to finish working on this thesis
parallel to my every-day-business at GFZ.
The colleagues from the Humboldt University Geomatics group, especially Tobias
Kümmerle and Sebastian van der Linden, for their kindness and support in organizational
and technical issues as well as the great work on the final document template!
Sonja Germer for her proofreading at the very end of the writing stage.

ii The people who gave me the most valuable support were the closest ones around me.
I deeply thank my parents for doing everything they could to allow me getting this far.
Jenny and Malik - thank you so much for your love and support that I have felt every
single day. Now it’s your turn, and I will try to give it all back to you…
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iv Abstract
Soil processes taking place in the context of erosion and land degradation are highly
dependent on the properties of the surface. While the causes and effects of such processes
are commonly well understood on a conceptual level, there is a lack of adequate data
sources allowing for their quantification at various spatial scales. The main goal of this
thesis was to assess the role of state-of-the-art remote sensing methods for the
quantification of soil properties with the aim to improve the understanding of surface
processes taking place in a degraded landscape. The chosen study area of 4 ha size located
in a lignite mine in eastern Germany allowed for a comprehensive, interdisciplinary and
multi-temporal analysis of surface properties based on remote sensing, pedological and
hydrological measurements over the years 2004 and 2005. The quantification of surface
soil moisture as an important variable for infiltration and runoff processes has been the
objective in laboratory and field spectroscopic experiments as well as in airborne
hyperspectral measurements. The newly developed Normalized Soil Moisture Index
(NSMI) was identified as the most robust quantifier for surface soil moisture in sandy
substrates in the field. Surface roughness was successfully quantified at high precision in
form of novel multiscale indices derived from datasets collected with a stationary laser
scanning device. The analysis of spatiotemporal roughness distributions allowed for the
detection of distinct patterns that developed under the influence of soil erosion in the field.
Observed substrate movements could be linked to the changes in both surface properties
that were quantified in this study based on remote sensing technologies. The thesis
developed a set of methods and indices that successfully implement the quantification of
surface soil moisture and roughness in the field. For an increasing number of regions in the
world suffering from land degradation, the application of these methods promises further
insights into the details of soil erosion processes taking place as well as the collection of
invaluable datasets to be used for soil erosion monitoring and modeling campaigns in the
future.
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