Challenges to national defence in contemporary geopolitical situation

Understanding how soil systems respond to atmospheric forcing is critical not only for environmental science but also for defence operations requiring accurate terrain assessment. This study quantifies depth‑dependent and delayed soil responses to meteorological drivers using lag‑correlation analysis across six operational military monitoring stations (2022–2024). The results demonstrate that soil–atmosphere coupling exhibits strong station‑specific variability, with response times ranging from hours to several weeks depending on soil type and depth.