Prof. Dr. Sascha Oswald

+49 331 977 2675
+49 331 977 2092
sascha.oswalduuni-potsdampde
https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/umwelt/institute/staff/oswald-sascha
Campus Golm
house 1, room 0.08
Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25
14476 Potsdam-Golm
by arrangement

CV

publications

Peer-reviewed publications via WoS or Scopus.

ISI Publications via ORCID.

Extensive compilation of publications in various forms at researchgate .

List of the recent journal articles:

Heistermann, Maik, Altdorff, D., Till Francke, Martin Schrön, Peter M. Grosse, Arvid Markert, Albrecht Bauriegel, Peter Biró, Sabine Attinger, Frank Beyrich, Peter Dietrich, Rebekka Eichstädt, Jakob Terschlüsen, Ariane Walz, Steffen Zacharias, and Sascha E. Oswald, 2026. Soil moisture monitoring with cosmogenic neutrons: an asset for the development and assessment of soil moisture products in the state of Brandenburg (Germany), Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 26(1), 465–486, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-465-2026.
Tötzke, Christian, Sarah Bereswill, Nicolas Lenoir, Cyrille Couture, Oriol Sans-Planell, Nikolay Kardjilov, Sascha E. Oswald, Lukas Helfen, 2026. Advancing root architecture analysis: 3D neutron imaging of plants grown in slab rhizotrons, Plant & Soil, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-025-08252-2.
Loui, Constantin, Pittroff, M., Oswald S.E., Strasser, D., Bochow, M., Munz, M., 2026. Fate of microplastics during bank filtration: Polymer-specific transport and retention at the sediment–water interface in sand-bed rivers, Water Research, 289(B), 125018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2025.125018.
Fatima, E., R. Kumar, D. Altdorff, S. Attinger, F. Boeing, S.E. Oswald, O. Rakovec, L. Samaniego, S. Zacharias, M. Schrön(2025). On the value of mobile cosmic-ray neutron measurements for spatio-temporal soil moisture simulations. Front. Water 7:1630051. https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2025.1630051.
Munz, M., D. Strasser, H. Lensing, S.E. Oswald, 2025. Großflächige Tracerversuche vom Oberflächengewässer ins Grundwasser zum Einfluss von Sohlbaggerungen auf die Entwicklung des Grundwassereintrags [Large-Scale tracer experiments: dredging impacts on recharge to groundwater], Grundwasser, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00767-025-00587-y.
Heistermann, Maik, Altdorff, D., Till Francke, Martin Schrön, Sabine Attinger, Albrecht Bauriegel, Frank Beyrich, Peter Biró, Peter Dietrich, Rebekka Eichstädt, Peter M. Grosse, Arvid Markert, Jakob Terschlüsen, Ariane Walz, Steffen Zacharias, and Sascha E. Oswald. Brief Communication: A new drought monitoring network in the state of Brandenburg (Germany) using cosmic-ray neutron sensing, in revision, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, preprint (Altdorff et al.) at https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3848, 2025.
Oswald, Sascha E., Technical note: Towards a paradigm change in observing soil water content via cosmic-ray neutron sensing, preprint at https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4141, 2025.
Scheiffele, Lena, Matthias Munz, Till Francke, Gabriele Baroni, Sascha E. Oswald, 2025. Enhancing hectare-scale groundwater recharge estimation by integrating data from cosmic-ray neutron sensing into soil hydrological modelling, Water Resources Research, 61(1), e2024WR037641, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR037641.
Fatima, E., Kumar, R., Attinger, S., Kaluza, M., Rakovec, O., Rebmann, C., Rosolem, R., Oswald, S.E., Samaniego, L., Zacharias, S., and Schrön, M. 2024: Improved representation of soil processes through incorporation of cosmic-ray neutron count measurements in a large-scale hydrologic model, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5419-2024 .
Oswald, Sascha E., Angermann, L., et al., 2024. Hydrology on solid grounds? Integration is key to closing knowledge gaps concerning landscape subsurface water storage dynamics, commentary, Hydrological Processes, 38: e1530, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.15320.
Pittroff, Marco, Constantin Loui, Sascha E. Oswald, Bochow, Mathias, Jan Kamp, Georg Dierkes, Lensing, Hermann-Josef, Matthias Munz, 2024. Riverbed depth-specific microplastics distribution and potential use as process marker, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 31, 45326–45340, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-34094-z .
Heistermann, M., T. Francke, M. Schrön, S. E. Oswald, 2024. Technical Note: Revisiting the general calibration of cosmic-ray neutron sensors to estimate soil water content, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28(4), 989–1000, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-989-2024.
Bereswill, S., Rudolph-Mohr, N., Oswald, S.E. 2024. Imaging rhizosphere CO₂ and O₂ concentration to localize respiration hotspots linked to root type and soil moisture dynamics, 100857, Rhizosphere, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rhisph.2024.100857 .
Munz, M., Loui, C., Postler, D., M. Pittroff, S.E. Oswald, 2024. Transport and retention of micro-Polystyrene in coarse riverbed sediments: Effects of flow velocity, particle and sediment sizes, Microplastics and Nanoplastics, 4, 2, https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s43591-023-00077-z.
Gianessi, S., Polo, M., Stevanato, L., Lunardon, M., Francke, T., Oswald, S. E., Said Ahmed, H., Toloza, A., Weltin, G., Dercon, G., Fulajtar, E., Heng, L., and Baroni, G., 2024. Testing a novel sensor design to jointly measure cosmic-ray neutrons, muons and gamma rays for non-invasive soil moisture estimation, Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 13, 9–25, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-13-9-2024.
Tötzke, C., B. Kozhuharova, N. Kardjilov, N. Lenoir, I. Manke, S.E. Oswald, 2024. Non-invasive 3D analysis of microplastic particles in sandy soil – exploring feasible options and capabilities, Science of the Total Environment, 907, 167927, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167927.
Scheiffele, Lena, et al., Comment on ‘Examining the variation of soil moisture from cosmic-ray neutron probes footprint: experimental results from a COSMOS-UK site’, Environmental Earth Science, 82, 474, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-11186-6.
Bereswill, S., Gatz-Miller, Hannah; Su, Danyang; Tötzke, Christian; Kardjilov, Nikolay; Oswald, Sascha E.; Mayer, K.U., 2023. Coupling non-invasive imaging and reactive transport modeling to investigate oxygen and water dynamics in the rhizosphere, Vadose Zone Journal, 22(5), e20268, https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20268.
Heistermann, M., T. Francke, L. Scheiffele, K. Dimitrova Petrova, C. Budach, M. Schrön, B. Trost, D. Rasche, A. Güntner, V. Döpper, M. Förster, M. Köhli, L. Angermann, N. Antonoglou, M. Zude-Sasse, S. Oswald, 2023. Three years of soil moisture observations by a dense cosmic-ray neutron sensing cluster at an agricultural research site in north-east Germany; Earth Syst. Sci. Data; 15, 3243–3262, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3243-2023
Reuß, M. S. E. Oswald, M. Munz and M. U. Kumke, 2023. Optical in situ monitoring of acid mine drainage remediation: Laboratory and Model investigation, published online, Groundwater Monitoring and Remediation, https://doi.org/10.1111/gwmr.12590
Munz, M., J.r Kreiß, L. Krüger, L. K. Schmidt, M. Bochow, M. Bednarz, C. Bannick, S. E. Oswald, 2023. Application of high resolution near infrared imaging spectroscopy to detect microplastic particles in different environmental compartments, 234(5):286, Water, Air & Soil Pollution, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06245-4 .
Altdorff, D., S. E. Oswald, S. Zacharias, C. Zengerle, P. Dietrich, H. Mollenhauer, S. Attinger and M. Schrön, 2023. Toward Large-Scale Soil Moisture Monitoring using Rail-based Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensing, Water Resources Research, 59(3), e2022WR033514, https://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2022WR033514 .
Barbosa, L. R., V. R. Coelho, A. V.L. Gusmão, L. A. Fernandes, B. B. da Silva, C. de O. Galvão, N. O.L. Caicedo, A. R. da Paz, Y. Xuan, G. F. Bertrand, D. de C. D. Melo, S. M.G.L. Montenegro, S. E. Oswald, C. das N. Almeida, 2022. A satellite-based approach to estimating spatially distributed groundwater recharge rates in a tropical wet sedimentary region despite cloudy conditions, 607, 127503, Journal of Hydrology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.127503.
Heistermann, M., H. Bogena, T. Francke, A. Güntner, J. Jakobi, D.l Rasche, M. Schrön, V. Döpper, B. Fersch, J. Groh, A. Patil, T. Pütz, M. Reich, S. Zacharias, C. Zengerle, S. Oswald, 2022. Soil moisture observation in a forested headwater catchment: combining a dense cosmic-ray neutron sensor network with roving and hydrogravimetry at the TERENO site Wüstebach, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2501–2519, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2501-2022
Stevanato, L., G. Baroni, S. E. Oswald, M. Lunardon, V. Mares, F. Marinello, S. Moretto, M. Polo, P. Sartori, P. Schattan, W. Ruehm, 2022. An Alternative Incoming Correction for Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensing Observations Using Local Muon Measurement, Geophysical Research Letters, 49(6), e2021GL095383, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL095383 .
Bogena, H., Schrön, M., et al., 2022. A European Network of Cosmic-Ray Neutron Soil Moisture Sensors, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1125–1151, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1125-2022 .
Francke, Till, Maik Heistermann, Markus Köhli, Christian Budach, Martin Schrön, Sascha E. Oswald, 2022. Assessing the feasibility of a directional CRNS-sensor for estimating soil moisture, Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems, 11, 75–92, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-11-75-2022.
Schrön, M., S. E. Oswald, S. Zacharias, M. Kasner, P. Dietrich, S. Attinger, 2021. Neutrons on Rails - trans-regional monitoring of soil water content and snow, published online, Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2021GL093924. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093924.
Rudolph-Mohr, N., Bereswill, S., Tötzke, Kardjilov, Oswald, S.E., 2021. Neutron computed Laminography yields 3D root system architecture and complements investigations of spatiotemporal rhizosphere patterns, Plant&Soil, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-05120-7.
Barbosa, L.R., Cuelho, V., Scheiffele, L.M., Baroni, G., Ramos Filho, G. M., Montenegro, S. M., Almeida, G. L., and Oswald, S. E., 2021. Intermediary-scale calibration of soil hydraulic parameters for daily groundwater recharge simulation in a tropical wet catchment using Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensing, Vadose Zone Journal, 20(4), e20145, doi: 10.1002/vzj2.20145.
Schreiber, L., M. Munz, T. Salzmann, S.E. Oswald, 2021. Coupled simulation of groundwater and drainage dynamics in a coastal fen, Grundwasser, 26(3), 289-304, doi:10.1007/s00767-021-00486-y.
Tötzke, C., N. Kardjilov, A. Hilger, N. Rudolph-Mohr, I. Manke, S.E. Oswald, 2021. Three-dimensional in vivo analysis of water uptake and translocation in maize roots by fast neutron tomography, Scientific Reports, 11:10578, doi:10.1038/s41598-021-90062-4.
Heistermann, M., Francke, T., Schrön, M., Oswald S.E., 2021. Spatio-temporal soil moisture retrieval at the catchment-scale using a dense network of cosmic-ray neutron sensors, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Disc., 25, 4807–4824, doi: 10.5194/hess-2021-25.
Tötzke, C., Oswald, S.E., Hilger, A., Kardjilov, N., 2021. Non-invasive detection and localization of microplastic particles in sediments by complementary neutron and X-ray tomography, Journal of Soils and Sediments, 21(3), 1476-1487, doi: 10.1007/s11368-021-02882-6.
Barkow, Isolde, S.E. Oswald, H.-J. Lensing, M. Munz, 2021. Seasonal dynamics modifies fate of oxygen, nitrate, and organic micropollutants during bank filtration – temperature-dependent reactive transport modeling of field data, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 9682–9700, doi:10.1007/s11356-020-11002-9 .
Scheiffele, LM, Baroni, G, Franz, TE, Jakobi, J, Oswald, SE., 2020. A profile shape correction to reduce the vertical sensitivity of cosmic‐ray neutron sensing of soil moisture. Vadose Zone J.; 19: e20083. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20083 .
Fersch, B., Francke, T., Heistermann, M., Schrön, M., Döpper, V., Jakobi, J., Baroni, G., Blume, T., Bogena, H., Budach, C., Gränzig, T., Förster, M., Güntner, A., Hendricks-Franssen, H.-J., Kasner, M., Köhli, M., Kleinschmit, B., Kunstmann, H., Patil, A., Rasche, D., Scheiffele, L., Schmidt, U., Szulc-Seyfried, S., Weimar, J., Zacharias, S., Zreda, M., Heber, B., Kiese, R., Mares, V., Mollenhauer, H., Völksch, I., and Oswald, S., 2020: A dense network of cosmic-ray neutron sensors for soil moisture observation in a pre-alpine headwater catchment in Germany, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2289–2309, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2289-2020.
Wang, W., S.E. Oswald, T. Gräff, H.-J. Lensing, T. Liu, D. Strasser, M. Munz, 2020. Impact of canal reconstruction on groundwater flow during bank filtration assessed by transient 3-D modelling of flow and heat transport, Hydrogeology J., 28, 723–743, open access, doi: 10.1007/s10040-019-02063-3.
Schattan, P., M. Köhli, M.Schrön, G. Baroni, S.E. Oswald, 2019. Sensing area-average snow water equivalent with cosmic-ray neutrons: the influence of fractional snow cover, Water Resources Research, 55, 10796– 10812, doi: 10.1029/2019WR025647.
Tötzke C., N. Kardjilov, N. Lenoir, I. Manke, S.E. Oswald, A. Tengattini, 2019. What comes NeXT? – High-Speed Neutron Tomography at ILL, Opt. Express 27, 28640-28648, doi.org/10.1364/OE.27.028640.
Munz M., Sascha E. Oswald, Robin Schäfferling, Hermann-Josef Lensing, 2019. Temperature-dependent redox zonation, nitrate removal and attenuation of organic micropollutants during bank filtration, Water Research, 162, 225 - 235, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.06.041.
Haber-Pohlmeier, S., C. Tötzke, E. Lehmann, N. Kardjilov, A. Pohlmeier, S. E. Oswald, 2019. Combination of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Neutron Computed Tomography for 3D Rhizosphere Imaging, Vadose Zone J, Vol. 18, No. 1, doi:10.2136/vzj2018.09.0166.
Schrön, M., R. Rosolem, M. Köhli, L. Piussi, I. Schröter, J. Iwema, S. Kögler, S. E. Oswald, U. Wollschläger, L. Samaniego, P. Dietrich, S. Zacharias, 2018. Cosmic-Ray Neutron Rover Surveys of Field Soil Moisture and the Influence of Roads, Water Resources Research, WRCR23381, 54(9), 6441-6459, doi: 10.1029/2017WR021719 .
Wagner, K., S.E. Oswald, A. Frick, 2018. Multitemporal soil moisture monitoring by use of optical remote sensing data in a dike relocation area, Proc. SPIE 10783, Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Hydrology XX, 107831V (10 October 2018), doi:10.1117/12.2325319.
Haber-Pohlmeier, S., C. Tötzke, S. E. Oswald, E. Lehmann, B. Blümich, A. Pohlmeier, 2018. Imaging of root zone processes using MRI T1 mapping, Microporous & Mesoporous Materials, 269, 43-46, doi:10.1016/j.micromeso.2017.10.046.
Baroni, G. Scheiffele, L., Schrön, M., Ingwersen, J. Oswald, S.E., 2018. Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis to improve soil water monitoring with Cosmic-Ray Neutrons Sensing, Journal of Hydrology, 564, 873-887, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.07.053.
Schmidt, L.K., M. Bochow, H. Imhof and S.E. Oswald, 2018. Multi-temporal surveys for microplastic particles enabled by a novel and fast application of SWIR imaging spectroscopy – Study of an urban watercourse traversing the city of Berlin, Env. Pollution, 239, 579-589, doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2018.03.097.
Schrön, M., Zacharias, S., Womack, G., Köhli, M., Desilets, D., Oswald, S. E., Bumberger, J., Mollenhauer, H., Kögler, S., Remmler, P., Kasner, M., Denk, A., and Dietrich, P., 2018. Intercomparison of Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensors and Water Balance Monitoring in an Urban Environment, Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 7, 83-99, doi:10.5194/gi-7-83-2018.