Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1803901
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Maximizing the information return of vehicle-based sensors: optimal routing for mobile cosmic ray neutron sensing
Author Topaclioglu, C.; Trinkle, L.F. ORCID logo ; Anders, J.; Landmark, S.; Schrön, M.; Dietrich, P. ORCID logo ; Paasche, H.
Source Titel Frontiers in Environmental Science
Year 2026
Department MET
Volume 14
Page From art. 1803901
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Keywords cluster analysis; combinatorial optimization; cosmic ray neutron sensing; experimental design; information fusion; soil moisture; vehicle routing
Abstract

This study aims to maximize the informational return of mobile environmental data acquisition systems operating on road networks. We propose a two-step survey design framework that fuses spatially dense auxiliary data describing landscape heterogeneity with road network information and formulates route planning as a combinatorial optimization problem. An information-rich initial route is constructed using fuzzy clustering and orienteering optimization, followed by an economization step that preserves information content through convex hull analysis in auxiliary data space. The framework is evaluated using a large-scale (4,500 km2) case study of mobile Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensing (CRNS) soil moisture measurements in central Germany. The optimized route yields more representative spatial coverage and reduced extrapolation requirements when regionalizing sparse CRNS measurements into gravimetric soil moisture maps, thereby lowering ontological uncertainty in regression-based soil moisture mapping compared to an empirically designed route of similar length. The results demonstrate that explicitly information-driven route design substantially improves survey efficiency and data quality. The proposed framework offers a general and transferable alternative to convenience-based mobile sampling strategies in Earth and environmental sciences.

Topaclioglu, C., Trinkle, L.F., Anders, J., Landmark, S., Schrön, M., Dietrich, P., Paasche, H. (2026):
Maximizing the information return of vehicle-based sensors: optimal routing for mobile cosmic ray neutron sensing
Front. Environ. Sci. 14 , art. 1803901
10.3389/fenvs.2026.1803901