This data collection compiles the soil moisture stations of the DEMMIN test site operated by the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in cooperation with the National Ground Segment Neustrelitz (Remote Sensing Data Center, German Aerospace Center DLR). The site was originally installed by the DLR in 2000 and has become part of the TERENO Northeastern German Lowland Observatory in 2011. This data collection only comprises the GFZ soil moisture stations. Climate stations operated by DLR and GFZ are published as separate data compilations (Borg et al. 2018, Itzerott et al., 2018).
The DEMMIN test site is located within the central monitoring sites of the TERENO Northeastern German Lowland Observatory. It covers 900 km² and exhibits mostly glacial formed lowlands with terminal moraines in the southern part, containing the highest elevation of 83m a.s.l. The region between the rivers Tollense and Peene consists of flat ground moraines, whereas undulating ground moraines determine the landscape character north of the river Peene. The lowest elevation is located near the town Loitz with 0.5m a.s.l. The region is characterized by intense agricultural use and the three rivers Tollense and Trebel which confluence into the Peene River at the Hanseatic city Demmin. The present climate is characterized by a long-term (1981–2010) mean temperature of 8.7 °C and mean precipitation of 584 mm/year, measured at the Teterow weather station by Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD). The Northeastern German Lowland Observatory is situated in a region shaped by recurring glacial and periglacial processes since at least half a million years. Within this period, three major glaciations covered the entire region, the last time this happened approximately 25-15 k ago (Weichselian glaciation). Since that time, a young morainic landscape developed characterized by many lakes and river systems that are connected to the shallow ground water table.
The test site is instrumented with more than 40 environmental measurement stations (DLR, GFZ) and 63 soil moisture stations (GFZ). A lysimeter-hexagon (DLR, FZJ) was installed near to the village Rustow and is part of the SOILCan project. A crane completes the measurement infrastructure currently available in the test site installed by GFZ/ DLR in 2011.
Data is automatically collected via a telemetry network by DLR. The quality control of all environmental data is carried out by DLR using visual inspection and automatic quality processing is performed by GFZ since 2012. The delivered dataset contains the measured data and quality flags indicating the validity of each measured value and detected reasons for exclusion. The dataset is also available through the TERENO Data Discovery Portal. The dataset will be dynamically extended as more data is acquired at the stations. New data will be added after a delay of several months to allow manual interference with the quality control process.
The TERENO (TERrestrial ENvironmental Observatories) is an initiative of the Helmholtz Centers (Forschungszentrum Jülich – FZJ, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology – KIT, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Center for Environmental Health – HMGU, German Research Centre for Geosciences - GFZ, and German Aerospace Center – DLR) (http://www.tereno.net/overview-de)..TERENO spans an Earth observation network across Germany that extends from the North German lowlands to the Bavarian Alps. This unique large-scale project aims to catalogue the longterm ecological, social and economic impact of global change at regional level.
Further specific goals of the TERENO remote sensing research group at GFZ are (1) supplying environmental data for algorithm development in remote sensing and environmental modelling, with a focus on soil moisture and evapotranspiration, and (2) practical tests of remote sensing data integration in agricultural land management practices.