Interurban - geophysical assessment of water dynamics and solute transport in urban soils

Urban soils are subject to strong variations of environmental conditions, like water flow, solute transport or heat budget. The research project INTERURBAN has been formed to clarify the dynamics of water and materials at urban locations with special consideration of the spatial heterogeneity, the organic soil substance, and soil-biological transformation processes. In order to achieve these objectives, we work on four interdisciplinary questions: 1st The evaluation of spatial heterogeneity and its interaction with sub-processes; 2nd The influence of biotic and abiotic factors on the characteristics of the organic substance; 3rd The recording of water- and material transport from heterogeneous urban locations and application to selected locations; 4th The recording of the interaction between biotic and abiotic factors and their participation in the dynamics of the release of pollutants. These goals of the research group define the target for geophysics: The development of a noninvasive conception to map the water distribution and important structural parameters. In addition to standard methods, like geoelectrics and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) and Surface Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (SNMR) will be used. SNMR is the only method that allows to determine water content and pore size distribution directly from the surface and therefore a special focus in the project.