Center for Transformative Infrastructure Preservation and Sustainability

Project Details

Title:
Using a Cosmic Ray Neutron Rover to Measure Unpaved Road Moisture for Improved Maintenance and Safety
Principal Investigators:
Jeffrey Niemann and Joseph Scalia IV
University:
Status:
Active
Type:
Research
Year:
2024
Grant #:
69A3552348308 (IIJA / BIL)
Project #:
CTIPS-022
RiP #:
Keywords:
data collection, highway maintenance, moisture content, remote sensing, unpaved roads

Abstract

Unpaved roads represent an important component of the nation's transportation portfolio. The moisture of unpaved roads affects their preservation, safety, and health impacts. However, monitoring road moisture has been difficult because rapid, non-invasive measurement methods have not been readily available. In recent years, cosmic ray neutron (CRN) rovers have been developed, which can rapidly sense nearby water. Because most of the CRN signal originates near sensor, CRN rovers can potentially observe road moisture when driven on unpaved roads. The objective of this project is to evaluate the accuracy of a CRN rover for monitoring the moisture of unpaved roads. The project will focus on a lightly traveled section of an unpaved road in Colorado. The road moisture will be estimated by combining the rover measurements with landscape soil moisture estimates obtained by downscaling SMAP remote sensing data. The resulting road moisture estimates will be evaluated by comparing to gravimetric moisture measurements from road material samples.

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