Academic literature on the topic 'Soil moisture Measurement'

The accurate measurement of soil moisture can be a time-consuming task. Soil moisture is highly variable, and it can be difficult to capture spatially and temporally. While remote sensing has become a popular and ever-improving tool, on-ground measurement is required for both calibration, validation, and evaluation of any emerging technology. Many applications commonly require or use a relative value of soil moisture to assess the temporal persistency of moisture regimes across catchments or agricultural landscapes. This paper compares on-ground indirect soil moisture measurements from two commonly available manufacturer-calibrated in-situ measurement devices against gravimetric soil moisture data. The devices used are a Delta T Theta Probe and a Campbell Scientific CS659 while the gravimetric soil moisture data are from soil cores collected in 2014, 2015 and 2018 (308 samples) with a range of soil moisture states from wilting point to field capacity. The gravimetric and probe measurements returned R values of approximately 0.8 for 2014 and 2015. A decrease in correlation (to approximately 0.3 and 0.5) was observed for the 2018 data. The manufacturer-calibrated probe measurements did not provide a 1:1 relationship with the gravimetric soil moisture data and require calibration for bias correction. However, results show that either the Theta Probe or CS659 are reliable and comparable to the gravimetric results in most conditions. Best results will be obtained by using appropriate techniques and knowing the limitations of devices. The calibration equations developed in this study are useful for others for both understanding and measurement of soil moisture.

An outline is presented of the relations between the energy status of water and the content of liquid water and ice in frozen soils. The theory formulates the dependence of the soil moisture characteristic (moisture retention curve) of a frozen soil on the load pressure and the temperature. This formulation requires the definition of the envelope-pressure potentials and the frost potentials of the soil moisture and the ice present in the soil. These potentials are expressed in terms of the void ratio, the moisture ratio, the ice ratio, the moisture ratio equivalent, and the ice ratio equivalent. The relations between these variables are intrinsic properties of the porous medium. They have to be determined by experiment or deduced from indirect measurements. The present theory facilitates such deductions. The measurement of the equilibrium soil moisture and ice pressures in frozen soil is more difficult than the measurement of the volume ratios. Thus, it may be advantageous to deduce the former from the latter. Some data from the literature are used to demonstrate the use of indirect measurements in order to obtain the required properties.Key words: Soil water, soil ice, Maxwell relations, envelope-pressure potentials, frost potentials

Abstract. One of the methods for irrigation scheduling is to use sensors to measure the soil moisture level in the plant root zone and apply water if there is a water shortage for the plants. The measurement accuracy and reliability of the soil moisture sensors are critical for sensor-based irrigation management. This study evaluated the measurement accuracy and repeatability of the EC-5 and 5TM soil volumetric water content (SVWC) sensors, the MPS-2 and 200SS soil water potential (SWP) sensors, and the 200TS soil temperature sensor. Six 183 cm × 183 cm × 71 cm wooden compartments were built inside a greenhouse, and each compartment was filled with one type of soil from the Mississippi Delta. A total of 66 sensors with 18 data loggers were installed in the soil compartments to measure SVWC, SWP, and soil temperature. Soil samples were periodically collected from the compartments to determine SVWC using the gravimetric method. SVWC measured by the sensors was compared with that determined by the gravimetric method. The SVWC readings from the sensors had a linear regression relationship with the gravimetric SVWC (r2 = 0.82). This relationship was used to calibrate the sensor readings. The SVWC and SWP sensors could detect the general trend of soil moisture changes. However, their measurements varied significantly among the sensors. To obtain accurate absolute soil moisture measurements, the sensors require individual and soil-specific calibration. The 5TM, MPS-2, and 200TS sensors performed well in soil temperature measurement tests. Individual temperature readings from these sensors were very close to the mean of all sensor readings. Keywords: Irrigation, Sensors, Soil types, Soil water content, Soil water potential.

Soil moisture measurements are critical to all field studies of soil-plant-water relationships. Dependable and reliable techniques are required to provide such measurements. Neutron probes were developed more than 40 years ago and continue to be used today. They offer many advantages as a measurement technique, the most important of which is non-destructive, repetitive measurements of soil moisture. Much research has been focused on overcoming the two major limitations of neutron probes: measuring near-surface soil moisture and a smoothing of moisture data at sharp moisture discontinuities in the soil. Various techniques have been devised to overcome the first limitation and the error associated with the second is acceptable by probe users The dramatic decline in the number of articles in the scientific literature related to neutron probes during the past decade is likely an indication that neutron probe technology has matured and that neutron probes have become accepted as a reliable and dependable field technique for soil moisture measurement. Key words: Neutron probe, soil moisture, water budget

Determining and mitigating landslide risk is a technical-scientific objective, particularly for the protection and proper territorial management and planning. The slope stability depends on the pore pressure distribution, which is influenced by the saturation front propagation through the unsaturated zone, whose monitoring is useful to understand any possible instabilities. Such monitoring may be undertaken by sensors based on the measurement of the relative dielectric permittivity. Reliable relationships between the measurement and the soil moisture are necessary. The main objective of this study is to assess a laboratory calibration protocol for a specific capacitance sensor (Drill & Drop, Sentek Sensor Technologies). Two monogranular sands have been selected for the calibration purpose. The laboratory tests were performed under three relative density values (D_R equal to 40%, 60% and 80%) for seven volumetric water content values (θ_v ranging from 0.00% to 36.26%). Based on the experimental measurements, the soil-specific calibration curves were determined at an assigned relative density value; in particular, a simple power law is adopted to describe the probe’s reading as a function of the volumetric water content. The results point out that the relative density values slightly affect the tests, thus, the soil-specific calibration curves are derived based on a simple regression analysis fitting the whole set of the laboratory tests validated for each sand. The calculated coefficient of determination (R² = 0.96÷0.99) and root mean square error (RMSE = 1.4%÷2.8%) values confirm the goodness of fit. In order to propose more general fitting curves, suitable for both the investigated sands, multiple linear regressions are performed by considering θ_v and the mean grain size, D₅₀ as independent variables; again, the R² and RMSE values equal to 0.97 and 2.41%, respectively, confirm the suitability of the calibration curve. Finally, the laboratory calibration curves are compared with the manufacturer-supplied curves, thus, enhancing the need for the soil-specific calibration.

Abstract. Cosmic-ray neutron sensing (CRNS) allows for non-invasive soil moisture estimations at the field scale. The derivation of soil moisture generally relies on secondary cosmic-ray neutrons in the epithermal to fast energy ranges. Most approaches and processing techniques for observed neutron intensities are based on the assumption of homogeneous site conditions or of soil moisture patterns with correlation lengths shorter than the measurement footprint of the neutron detector. However, in view of the non-linear relationship between neutron intensities and soil moisture, it is questionable whether these assumptions are applicable. In this study, we investigated how a non-uniform soil moisture distribution within the footprint impacts the CRNS soil moisture estimation and how the combined use of epithermal and thermal neutrons can be advantageous in this case. Thermal neutrons have lower energies and a substantially smaller measurement footprint around the sensor than epithermal neutrons. Analyses using the URANOS (Ultra RApid Neutron-Only Simulation) Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the measurement footprint dynamics at a study site in northeastern Germany revealed that the thermal footprint mainly covers mineral soils in the near-field to the sensor while the epithermal footprint also covers large areas with organic soils. We found that either combining the observed thermal and epithermal neutron intensities by a rescaling method developed in this study or adjusting all parameters of the transfer function leads to an improved calibration against the reference soil moisture measurements in the near-field compared to the standard approach and using epithermal neutrons alone. We also found that the relationship between thermal and epithermal neutrons provided an indicator for footprint heterogeneity. We, therefore, suggest that the combined use of thermal and epithermal neutrons offers the potential of a spatial disaggregation of the measurement footprint in terms of near- and far-field soil moisture dynamics.

Ground validation of remote sensing soil moisture requires ground measurements corresponding to the pixel scale. To date, there is still a lack of simple, fast and reasonable methods for soil moisture measurement at pixel scale between point measurements and remote sensing observations. In this study, a measurement method of soil moisture using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) was proposed for pixel scale. We used a PulseEKKOTM PRO GPR system with 250 MHz antennas to measure soil moisture by Fixed Offset (FO) method in four 30 × 30 m2 plots chosen from the desert steppe. This study used a random combination method to analyze soil moisture measurements acquired by different numbers of GPR survey lines. The results showed that two survey lines of GPR would be sufficient under confidence level of 90% with the relative error of 7%, and four survey lines of GPR would be eligible under confidence level of 95% with the relative error of 5% for each plot. GPR measurement can reproduce the spatial distribution of soil moisture with higher resolution and smaller error, especially when two and four survey lines are designed in cross shape and grid shape, respectively. The method was applied to ground validation for the soil moisture from Landsat 8, showing the advantages of stable relative errors, less contingency and reliable evaluation when compared to point measurements. This method is fast and convenient and not limited to a certain pixel, and thus largely benefits the scale matching of remote sensing results and field measurements in ground validation.

The extent, timing, and magnitude of soil moisture in wetlands (the hydropattern) is a primary physical control on biogeochemical processes in desert environments. However, determining playa hydropatterns is challenged by the remoteness of desert basin sites and by the difficulty in determining soil moisture from remotely sensed data at fine spatial and temporal scales (hundreds of meters to kilometers, and hours to days). Therefore, we developed a new, reflectance-based soil moisture index (continuum-removed water index, or CRWI) that can be determined via hyperspectral imaging from drone-borne platforms. We compared its efficacy at remotely determining soil moisture content to existing hyperspectral and multispectral soil moisture indices. CRWI varies linearly with in situ soil moisture content (R2 = 0.89, p < 0.001) and is comparatively insensitive to soil clay content (R2 = 0.4, p = 0.01), soil salinity (R2 = 0.82, p < 0.001), and soil grain size distribution (R2 = 0.67, p < 0.001). CRWI is negatively correlated with clay content, indicating it is not sensitive to hydrated mineral absorption features. CRWI has stronger correlation with surface soil moisture than other hyperspectral and multispectral indices (R2 = 0.69, p < 0.001 for WISOIL at this site). Drone-borne reflectance measurements allow monitoring of soil moisture conditions at the Alvord Desert playa test site over hectare-scale soil plots at measurement cadences of minutes to hours. CRWI measurements can be used to determine surface soil moisture at a range of desert sites to inform management decisions and to better reveal ecosystem processes in water-limited environments.

Soil moisture information can be used accurately in determining the timing and amount of irrigation applied to plants. Pan and Pan et al. proposed a robust and simple daily diagnostic equation for estimating daily soil moisture. The diagnostic equation evaluates the relationship between the soil moisture loss function and the summation weighted average of precipitation. The loss function uses the sinusoidal wave function which employs day of the year (DOY) to evaluate the seasonal variation in soil moisture loss for a given year. This was incorporated into the daily diagnostic equation to estimate the daily soil moisture for a location. Solar radiation is an energy source that drives the energy and water exchanges between vegetation and the atmosphere (i.e., evapotranspiration), and thus impacts the soil moisture dry-down. In this paper, two parameters (the actual solar radiation and the clear sky solar radiation) are introduced into loss function coefficient to improve the estimation of soil moisture. After the Introduction of the solar radiation data into soil moisture loss function, a slight improvement was observed in the estimated daily soil moisture. Pan observed that generally the correlation coefficient between the estimated and the observed soil moisture is above 0.75 and the root mean square error is below 5.0 (%v/v). The introduction solar radiation data (i.e. clear sky solar radiation and actual solar) improve the correlation coefficient average for all the sites evaluated by 0.03 when the root mean square error is generally below 4.5(%v/v) for the entire root zone.

Thesis (MScAgric)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Irrigation scheduling is one of the most important cultural practices in irrigated vineyards. Water holding capacity of soil is arguably therefore one of the most important characteristics of a soil as it determines how much water can be made available to the plant. The measurement of water holding capacity of soils is time consuming and costly. In situ determinations are often impractical to determine. For routine determinations, water holding capacity is therefore determined on disturbed samples. Such a method for example is the rubber ring method. A great deal of criticism surrounds this rubber ring method and results are often questioned. The objectives of this study were therefore to determine what the relationship was between undisturbed and disturbed samples and to determine whether compacted samples could give a more accurate representation of the water holding capacity of soil. Soil textural factors influencing the volumetric water content of undisturbed, rubber ring and compacted samples at 5, 10 and 100 kPa were investigated. In addition, soil textural properties influencing water holding capacity of the respective samples between 5 and 100 kPa and 10 and 100 kPa were investigated. The final objective of the study was to develop simple models to predict the volumetric water content and water holding capacity of soil. Undisturbed and disturbed soil samples were taken at various localities to ensure a wide range of textures. Water holding capacity of undisturbed and disturbed samples was determined at ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij using the standard air pressure and ceramic plate technique and the routine rubber ring method respectively. Soil samples were also compacted to a bulk density of approximately 1.5 g.cm-3 as a further treatment for determination of water holding capacity using the air pressure and ceramic plate technique. To investigate aspects of soil texture that could possibly influence volumetric water content of the soil, correlations were done between different texture components and volumetric water content of undisturbed, rubber ring and compacted samples at 5, 10 and 100 kPa. In order to determine the effect of texture on water holding capacity of the soil, correlations were drawn between texture components and water holding capacity of undisturbed, rubber ring and compacted samples between matric potential ranges 5 and 100 kPa and 10 and 100 kPa. The results from this study were used to develop models to predict volumetric soil water content and water holding capacity of soils for a range of soils. Volumetric water content of rubber ring samples at 5 kPa was more than the volumetric water content of undisturbed samples at 5 kPa. The volumetric water content of rubber ring samples at 5 kPa and the volumetric water content of undisturbed samples at 5 kPa was correlated by 87%. Volumetric water content of compacted samples at 5 kPa had a 85% degree of correlation with the volumetric water content of undisturbed samples. At 10 kPa, the correlation between volumetric water content determined using rubber ring samples and undisturbed samples was 77%. This was identical to the correlation between volumetric water content of compacted samples at 10 kPa and undisturbed samples. At 100 kPa, most of the rubber ring samples' volumetric water content fell below the 1:1 line of volumetric water content of undisturbed samples. The volumetric water content of all the compacted samples was higher than that of the undisturbed samples. Water holding capacity of all the rubber ring samples between 5 and 100 kPa was greater than the water holding capacity of the undisturbed samples between 5 and 100 kPa. Rubber ring samples therefore generally overestimated the water holding capacity of the soil. The water holding capacity of most of the rubber ring samples between 10 and 100 kPa was greater than the water holding capacity of the undisturbed samples. In contrast, the water holding capacity of compacted samples between 5 and 100 kPa was less than the water holding capacity of undisturbed samples between 5 and 100 kPa. Water holding capacity of compacted samples was therefore underestimated. The results from this study confirmed that the influence of clay and silt content on volumetric water content of undisturbed, rubber ring and compacted samples increased as the suction on the respective samples is increased. The influence of fine sand content on volumetric water content of undisturbed, rubber ring and compacted samples decreased with an increase in matric potential to 100 kPa. Medium sand content of undisturbed, rubber ring and compacted samples had the greatest influence of all the textural components on the volumetric water content of the respective samples at 5 kPa and 10 kPa. Water holding capacity of undisturbed, rubber ring and compacted samples between 5 and 100 kPa was greatly influenced by the fine sand content of the samples. Medium sand content of the samples also had an influence on the water holding capacity thereof. To predict the volumetric water content of undisturbed samples at 5, 10 and 100 kPa, the independent variables were fine sand content, square root of medium sand content and In of medium sand content. In the case of models to predict the volumetric water content of rubber ring samples at 5, 10 and 100 kPa, the same variables were used as independent variables. Additional variables such as silt content, the In of silt content, square root of clay plus silt content and the medium sand content. To predict the volumetric water content of compacted samples at 5, 10 and 100 kPa the terms used were silt content, clay plus silt content, the e-clay plus silt content. medium sand content and the square root of medium sand content. The models to predict volumetric water content of rubber ring samples gave the best correlation with the actual volumetric water content of rubber ring samples. The final models to predict the water holding capacity of all the samples between 5 and 100 kPa and 10 and 100 kPa used only fine and medium sand parameters as independent variables. Soil textural components do play an important role in determining the volumetric water content of undisturbed, rubber ring and compacted samples at 5, 10 and 100 kPa. The magnitude of the water holding capacity between 5 and 100 kPa and 10 and 100 kPa is also influenced by soil texture. The models developed to predict the volumetric water content of samples at 5, 10 and 100 kPa and the magnitude of the water holding capacity between 5 and 100 kPa and 10 and 100 kPa could be very useful. Both time and money can potentially be saved. Models that can be highly recommended are the models generated for the undisturbed samples. These are: At 5 kPa, VWCu = 0.47259 - 0.04712 medium sando.s At 10 kPa, VWCu = 0.41292 - 0.04221 medium sandos At 100 kPa, VWCu = 0.48080 - 0.00254 fine sand - 0.0865 In medium sand Between 5 and 100 kPa, WHCu = -29.523 + 3.394 fine sand Between 10 and 100 kPa, WHCu = -891.794 + 232.326 In fine sand + 38.006 In medium sand
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Besproeiingskedulering is een van die belangrikste wingerdverbouingspraktyke. Waterhouvermoë bepaal hoeveel water beskikbaar gestel kan word aan die plant en daarom is dit een van die belangrikste eienskappe van 'n grond. Die meting van waterhouvermoë van grond is tydsaam en duur. Boonop is in situ bepalings dikwels onprakties om te bepaal. Waterhouvermoë word dus bepaal op versteurde monsters vir roetine ontledings. 'n Voorbeeld van so 'n metode is die rubberring metode. Daar bestaan groot kritiek teenoor hierdie rubberring metode en resultate word dikwels betwyfel deur die landboubedryf. Die doel van hierdie studie was dus om te bepaal wat die verwantskap is tussen onversteurde monsters en rubberring monsters asook om te bepaal of gekompakteerde monsters 'n meer akkurate aanduiding sou gee as onversteurde monsters van die waterhouvermoë van die grond. Grondtekstuur faktore wat die volumetriese waterinhoud van onversteurde monsters, rubberring monsters en gekompakteerde monsters by 5, 10 and 100 kPa beïnvloed, was ondersoek. Grondtekstuur faktore wat waterhouvermoë van die onderskeie monsters tussen 5 en 100 kPa en tussen 10 en 100 kPa beïnvloed, was ook ondersoek. Die finale doelwit van die studie was om eenvoudige modelle te ontwikkel vir die voorspelling van volumetriese waterinhoud en waterhouvermoë van grond. Onversteurde grond monsters en grond vir versteurde monsters is by verskeie lokaliteite geneem om 'n wye reeks teksture te verkry. Waterhouvermoë van onversteurde monsters is bepaal by LNR Infruitec- Nietvoorbij met die standaard drukplaat tegniek. Waterhouvermoë van versteurde grond is bepaal met die roetine rubberring metode van LNR Infruitec-Nietvoorbij. Grond was ook gekompakteer tot 'n bulkdigtheid van ongeveer 1.5 g.cm-3 en daarna is die waterhouvermoë bepaal by die LNR Infruitec- Nietvoorbij met die standaard drukplaat tegniek. Om aspekte van grondtekstuur, wat moontlik die volumetriese waterinhoud van grond kan beïnvloed te ondersoek, is korrelasies tussen verskeie tekstuur komponente en die volumetriese waterinhoud van onversteurde monsters, rubberring monsters en gekompakteerde monsters by 5, 10 en 100 kPa bepaal. Om te bepaal watter tekstuur komponente waterhouvermoë van die grond kan bepaal, is korrelasies getrek tussen tekstuur komponente en waterhouvermoë van onversteurde monsters, rubberring monsters en gekompakteerde monsters tussen 5 en 100 kPa en tussen 10 en 100 kPa. Die data is verwerk met die SAS uitgawe 6.12 (SAS, 1990) om modelle vir die voorspelling van volumetriese waterinhoud en waterhouvermoë van grond met behulp van maklik kwantifiseerbare grondtekstuur veranderlikes te ontwikkel. Die volumetriese waterinhoud van rubberring monsters by 5 kPa was meer as die volumetriese waterinhoud van onversteurde monsters by 5 kPa. Die volumetriese waterinhoud van rubberring monsters by 5 kPa en die volumetriese waterinhoud van onversteurde monsters by 5 kPa is gekorreleerd met 87%. Die volumetriese waterinhoud van gekompakteerde monsters by 5 kPa het 'n korrelasie van 85% met volumetriese waterinhoud van onversteurde monsters getoon. By 10 kPa, was die graad van korrelasie tussen volumetriese waterinhoud bepaal met rubberring monsters en onversteurde monsters, 77%. Dit was omtrent dieselfde as die graad van korrelasie tussen volumetriese waterinhoud van gekompakteerde monsters en onversteurde monsters by 10 kPa. By 100 kPa het die meeste van die rubberring monsters se volumetriese waterinhoud onderkant die 1:1 lyn van die volumetriese waterinhoud by 100 kPa van al die onversteurde monsters. Die volumetriese waterinhoud van al die gekompakteerde monsters was hoër as die van die onversteurde monsters. Die waterhouvermoë van al die rubberring monsters tussen 5 en 100 kPa was groter as die van die onversteurde monsters tussen 5 en 100 kPa. Die rubberring monsters het dus oor die algemeen die grootte van die waterhouvermoë oorskry. Die waterhouvermoë van die meeste van die rubberring monsters tussen 10 en 100 kPa was groter as die waterhouvermoë van die onversteurde monsters. Die waterhouvermoë van gekompakteerde monsters tussen 5 en 100 kPa was minder as die waterhouvermoë van die onversteurde monsters tussen 5 en 100 kPa. Die waterhouvermoë van gekompakteerde grondmonsters is dus onderskat. Die resultate van hierdie studie het die invloed van klei- en slik- inhoud op die volumetriese waterinhoud van onversteurde monsters, rubberring monsters en gekompakteerde monsters bevestig. Die invloed van klei en sand op die volumetriese waterinhoud van onversteurde monsters, rubberring monsters en gekompakteerde monsters het toegeneem soos die matriks potensiaal op die onderskeie monsters toegeneem het. Die invloed van fynsand op die volumetriese waterinhoud van onversteurde monsters, rubberring monsters en gekompakteerde monsters was die grootste by 5 kPa en het afgeneem tot by 100 kPa. Die mediumsand inhoud van onversteurde monsters, rubberring monsters en gekompakteerde monsters het van al die tekstuur komponente die grootste invloed op die volumetriese waterinhoud van al die monsters by 5 kPa en 10 kPa gehad. Die waterhouvermoë van onversteurde monsters, rubberring monsters en gekompakteerde monsters tussen 5 en 100 kPa is grootliks beinvloed deur die fynsand inhoud van die monsters. Die mediumsand inhoud van die monsters het ook 'n invloed gehad op die waterhouvermoë daarvan. Om die volumetriese waterinhoud van onversteurde monsters by 5, 10 en 100 kPa te voorspel, is onafhanklike veranderlikes soos fynsand inhoud, vierkantswortel van mediumsand inhoud en In van mediumsand inhoud bepaal. In die geval van modelle om die volumetriese waterinhoud van rubberring monsters by 5, 10 en 100 kPa te voorspel, is dieselfde veranderlikes gebruik as onafhanklike veranderlikes. Addisionele veranderlikes soos slik inhoud, In van slik inhoud, die vierkantswortel van die klei plus slik inhoud en die mediumsand inhoud is ook gebruik. Om die volumetriese waterinhoud van gekompakteerde monsters by 5, 10 en 100 kPa te voorspel, is die terme slik inhoud, klei plus slik inhoud, e-klei plus slik inhoud, mediumsand inhoud en vierkantswortel van mediumsand inhoud gebruik. Die modelle om volumetriese waterinhoud van rubberring samples te voorspel het die akkuraatste voorspellings gegee. Die finale modelle, om waterhouvermoë van alle monsters tussen 5 en 100 kPa en tussen 10 en 100 kPa te bepaal, het slegs fyn en mediumsand as onafhanklike veranderlikes gebruik. Grondtekstuur komponente speel dus 'n belangrike rol in die volumetriese waterinhoud van onversteurde monsters, rubberring monsters en gekompakteerde monsters by 5, 10 en 100 kPa. Die grootte van die waterhouvermoë tussen 5 en 100 kPa en tussen 10 en 100 kPa is ook beinvloed deur die grondtekstuur. Die modelle wat ontwikkel is om die volumetriese waterinhoud van monsters by 5, 10 en 100 kPa en die grootte van die waterhouvermoë tussen 5 en 100 kPa en tussen 10 and 100 kPa te voorspel, kan baie waardevol wees. Tyd en geld kan potensieel bespaar word. Die modelle wat hoogs aanbevole is, is die modelle vir onversteurde monsters. Die modele is: By 5 kPa, VWlo = 0.47259 - 0.04712 rnedlumsand?" By 10 kPa, VWlo = 0.41292 - 0.04221 mediumsando.s By 100 kPa, VWlo = 0.48080 - 0.00254 fynsand - 0.0865 In mediumsand Tussen 5 en 100 kPa, WHVo = -29.523 + 3.394 fynsand Tussen 10 en 100 kPa, WHVo = -891.794 + 232.326 In fynsand + 38.006 In mediumsand

In Chapter 1, a numerical computer technique is developed to determine radiation view factors between planar surfaces whose geometry is sufficiently regular so as to be defined by algebraic equations. This technique does not require spherical, cylindrical or rectangular symmetry, although such symmetries may be exploited when they exist. Once the essential geometric problem is formulated, enough generality can be built into the solutions so that certain "new" configurations, derived from translations or rotations of one surface relative to the other, can be solved as a matter of course. In Chapter 2, a model of bare soil evaporation is tested against measured flux from lysimeters obtained in the Peace River region of British Columbia and Alberta. Hydraulic diffusivity characteristics, measured from separate, adjacent field samples, were used in the model. Certain procedural difficulties in the measurement of hydraulic diffusivity are examined in detail, and recommendations for improvement are made. The degree to which evaporation simulation agrees with measured flux is discussed.
Land and Food Systems, Faculty of
Graduate

Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity was measured using four different methods. Tension permeameters were used to measure unsaturated hydraulic conductivity in the field, using a single disc method, which depends on the measurements of sorptivity, steady state flow rate, initial and final water content (White and Perroux, 1987, 1989). Also, a double disc method was used which utilizes Wooding's (1968) equation for two different disc radii at the same tension for steady state flow rates. Undisturbed and disturbed soil cores were used to measure unsaturated hydraulic conductivity in the lab, using water retention curves with van Genuchten's equations. There were no significant differences in the mean of hydraulic conductivity between single and double disc methods in all the tensions used (0, 5, 10 and 15 cm). There were significant differences between the field methods and undisturbed soil cores in zero cm tension, and disturbed soil cores in 10 and 15 cm tension. The effect of land preparation on the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity was studied using the double disc method. Tilling has significant effects on the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity at all tensions used. The spatial variation of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and steady state flow in different tensions using the double disc method was studied. We found exponential variogram models for unsaturated hydraulic conductivity at 5, 10 and 15 cm tensions and a random model for zero cm tension. Also, exponential models were best fitted for steady state flow corresponding to pores radii of 0.03 - 0.015 cm, 0.015 - 0.010 cm and steady state flow at 10 cm tension. A Michaelis-Menton model was used for steady state flow at 5 cm and 15 cm tension. Disc permeameters were also used to add 5 cm depth of water, bromide and dye solution at 0, 5, 10 and 15 cm tensions with three replicates. A comparison was made between field data and simulated model under the same boundary and initial conditions as in the field. Results showed that the water and bromide move deeper than the prediction of the simulated model in all tensions used. The differences were larger between simulated model and field data for both water and bromide concentrations in the lower tension and smaller in the higher tension as a result of elimination of some preferential flow paths. An equation was developed for cumulative infiltration valid for both small and large time. The parameters calculated using the developed equation closely matched the measured infiltration, and fit better than a three term series similar to the Philip equation for one-dimensional flow.

The feasibility of synthesizing distributed fields of remotely-sensed soil moisture by the novel application of four-dimensional data assimilation applied in a hydrological model was explored in this study. Six Push Broom Microwave Radiometer images gathered over Walnut Gulch, Arizona were assimilated into the TOPLATS hydrological model. Several alternative assimilation procedures were implemented, including a method that adjusted the statistics of the modeled field to match those in the remotely sensed image, and the more sophisticated, traditional methods of statistical interpolation and Newtonian nudging. The high observation density characteristic of remotely-sensed imagery poses a massive computational burden when used with statistical interpolation, necessitating observation reduction through subsampling or averaging. For Newtonian nudging, the high observation density compromises the conventional weighting assumptions, requiring modified weighting procedures. Remotely-sensed soil moisture images were found to contain horizontal correlations that change with time and have length scales of several tens of kilometers, presumably because they are dependent on antecedent precipitation patterns. Such correlation therefore has a horizontal length scale beyond the remotely sensed region that approaches or exceeds the catchment scale. This suggests that remotely-sensed information can be advected beyond the image area and across the whole catchment. The remotely-sensed data was available for a short period providing limited opportunity to investigate the effectiveness of surface-subsurface coupling provided by alternative assimilation procedures. Surface observations were advected into the subsurface using incomplete knowledge of the surface-subsurface correlation measured at only 2 sites. It is perceived that improved vertical correlation specification will be a need for optimal soil moisture assimilation. Based on direct measurement comparisons and the plausibility of synthetic soil moisture patterns, Newtonian nudging assimilation procedures were preferred because they preserved the observed patterns within the sampled region, while also calculating plausible patterns in unmeasured regions. Statistical interpolation reduced to the trivial limit of direct data insertion in the sampled region and gave less plausible patterns outside this region. Matching the statistics of the modeled fields to those observed provided plausible patterns, but the observed patterns within sampled area were largely lost.

Drought is the most severe disaster compared to other disasters in human civilization and their impacts are serious which can cause hungur, thrist, food shortages, loss of livestock directly effects the human life. The main objective of this project is to develop an early warning system (EWS) [3] for drought indices by using wireless sensor networks (WSNs) which is the only way forward for an on-site monitoring and validation of locally defined drought indices [3].The designed wireless sensor network (WSN) consisting of a sensor unit, a master unit and a sensor power management unit (PMU). The sensor unit measures the moisture of the soil and transmitt the measured data through ZigBee module to the master unit. A real time clock (RTC) is also used in the sensor unit which records the information of second, minute, hour, day, month of day and year about when or what time the measurement taken. The master unit consisting of a SD-card and Bluetooth module. SD-card is used to store measured data from other sensor units and it is possible to take out the reading of measured data from the master unit by accessing the SD-card via Bluetooth inside the master unit to a PC or a smartphone mobile.To manage the power in the sensor unit and to make sensor alive for several years, the power management unit (PMU) manages the power level between two energy storage buffers (i.e., a supercapacitor and a Li+ ion battery) for a sensor node.

AbstractIt was crucial to acquire soil CO2 flux data from a bare peatland site in Kampar Peninsula, Riau Province, Indonesia so as to evaluate the carbon budget of the site in which water is managed, drained, and utilized for acacia plantation. CO2 flux was continuously measured from July 2012 to February 2013 using an automatic soil CO2 flux measurement system. In this study, the factors affecting carbon emission were analyzed and tested for indirect CO2 flux estimation, and the results showed that CO2 flux varied with weather, water, and soil-related variables, and where there was rainfall, soil temperature and soil moisture both played an important role. CO2 flux was modeled using an artificial neural network (ANN) approach with inputs of soil moisture, temperature, and electrical conductivity (EC) as proxy variables. Based on the measurements, the total carbon dioxide (CO2) emission during the measurement period from July 2012 to June 2013 was 52.25 t ha−1. Total CO2 emission in 2012 was estimated as 54.86 t ha−1 using the ANN model. Furthermore, the results generated by the model showed that levels of CO2 flux declined as the temperature decreased, and soil moisture increased toward soil water saturation.

A soil moisture retrieval method is proposed, in the absence of ground-based auxiliary measurements, by deriving the soil moisture content relationship from the satellite vegetation index-based evapotranspiration fraction and soil moisture physical properties of a soil type. A temperature–vegetation dryness index threshold value is also proposed to identify water bodies and underlying saturated areas. Verification of the retrieved growing season soil moisture was performed by comparative analysis of soil moisture obtained by observed conventional in situ point measurements at the 239-km2 Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed, Idaho, USA (2006–2009), and at the US Climate Reference Network (USCRN) soil moisture measurement sites in Sundance, Wyoming (2012–2015), and Lewistown, Montana (2014–2015). The proposed method best represented the effective root zone soil moisture condition, at a depth between 50 and 100 cm, with an overall average R2 value of 0.72 and average root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.042.

This project objective evaluated the potential of improving linked weather-and-mobility model predictions by blending soil moisture observations from a Cosmic-ray Soil Moisture Observing System (COSMOS) sensor with weather-informed predictions of soil moisture and soil strength from the Geospatial Weather-Affected Terrain Conditions and Hazards (GeoWATCH). Assimilating vehicle-borne COSMOS observations that measure local effects model predictions of soil moisture offered potential to produce more accurate soil strength and vehicle mobility forecast was the hypothesis. This project compared soil moisture observations from a COSMOS mobile sensor driven around an area near Iowa Falls, IA, with both GeoWATCH soil moisture predictions and in situ probe observations. The evaluation of the COSMOS rover data finds that the soil moisture measurements contain a low measurement bias while the GeoWATCH estimates more closely matched the in situ data. The COSMOS rover captured a larger dynamic range of soil moisture conditions as compared to GeoWATCH, capturing both very wet and very dry soil conditions, which may better flag areas of high risk for mobility considerations. Overall, more study of the COSMOS rover is needed to better understand sensor performance in a variety of soil conditions to determine the feasibility of assimilating the COSMOS rover estimates into GeoWATCH.

Drip irrigation has the potential of high water use efficiency, but actual water measurement is difficult because of the limited wetted volume. Two long-term experiments in orchards in Israel and in California and several field crop studies supported by this project have demonstrated the feasibility of precise monitoring of soil water distribution for drip irrigation in spite of the limited soil wetting. Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) enables in situ measurement of soil water content of well defined small volumes. Several approaches were tried in monitoring the soil water balance in the field during drip irrigation. These also facilitated the estimation of water uptake: 1. The use of multilevel moisture probe TDR system. This approach proved to be of limited value because of the extremely small diameter of measurement. 2. The placement of 20 cm long TDR probes at predetermined distances from the drippers in citrus orchards. 3. Heavy instrumentation with neutron scattering access tubes and tensiometers of a single drip irrigated almond tree. 4. High resolution spatial and temporal measurements (0.1m x 0.1m grid) of water content by TDR in corn irrigated by surface and subsurface drip. The latter approach was accompanied by parametric modelling of water uptake intensity patterns by corn roots and superimposed with analytical solutions for water flow from point and line sources. All this lead to general and physically based suggestions for the placement of soil water sensors for scheduling drip irrigation.

This work aims to improve pipeline segment prioritization for stress corrosion cracking (SCC) excavations. Specifically, it is aimed at optimizing the technical accuracy and the cost of the Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP, formerly NACE) Stress Corrosion Cracking Direct Assessment (SP0204-2015) process by: - evaluating the SCC susceptibility criteria of soil property parameters that were proposed in the first phase of the project (pH, resistivity, sulfide concentration, soil carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, carbonate concentration, soil oxygen (O2) concentration, sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB) concentration, oxygen reduction potential (ORP), soil moisture content, soil effect on steel hydrogen permeation and electrochemical properties) - investigating the technical and economic feasibility of using commercially available field instruments for the measurement of these soil parameters to overcome limitations of laboratory testing (e.g., sample preservation and external costs) Soil sampling and testing was conducted at twenty-two dig sites in three geographic regions in the USA and Canada. On-site soil sampling and testing activities were conducted by field service providers using commercially available portable instruments. Soil samples were sent to laboratories for chemical analysis and for electrochemical characterization. The data analysis consisted of: (i) comparison of soil properties obtained at sites with and without SCC against the proposed SCC susceptibility criteria (ii) comparison of soil property data obtained in the field to those obtained through laboratory analysis (iii) comparison of soil property data obtained using different field and lab measurement techniques (iv) comparison of costs associated with performing in-field measurements to those of laboratory analysis.

A combined lab and field program has been performed to study the external corrosion behaviour of buried linepipe. The overall aim of the project was to attempt to correlate pipe damage with measurable soil properties, in particular the redox potential as measured by buried soil probes. The lab component of the project involved the measurement of weight-loss corrosion rates in three types of soil, under saturated and as-received moisture conditions, and under permanently aerobic, permanently anaerobic or cyclic anaerobic/aerobic redox conditions. The soil conditions and coupon corrosion potentials were monitored during the course of the tests. In the field component of the study, pipe-depth soil properties were monitored using permanent NOVAProbes to measure the redox potential, soil resistivity, pH and temperature. Daily readings were taken at some locations with the aid of a custom-designed datalogger. Corrosion information was obtained from buried weight-loss or electrochemical coupons, from pipe excavations or from data from repeat in-line inspection runs.

The underlying similarity between soils, grains, fertilizers, concentrated animal feed, pellets, and mixtures is that they are all granular materials used in agriculture. Modeling such materials is a complex process due to the spatial variability of such media, the origin of the material (natural or biological), the nonlinearity of these materials, the contact phenomenon and flow that occur at the interface zone and between these granular materials, as well as the dynamic effect of the interaction process. The lack of a tool for studying such materials has limited the understanding of the phenomena relevant to them, which in turn has led to energy loss and poor quality products. The objective of this study was to develop a reliable prediction simulation tool for cohesive agricultural particle materials using Discrete Element Modeling (DEM). The specific objectives of this study were (1) to develop and verify a 3D cohesionless agricultural soil-tillage tool interaction model that enables the prediction of displacement and flow in the soil media, as well as forces acting on various tillage tools, using the discrete element method; (2) to develop a micro model for the DEM formulation by creating a cohesive contact model based on liquid bridge forces for various agriculture materials; (3) to extend the model to include both plastic and cohesive behavior of various materials, such as grain and soil structures (e.g., compaction level), textures (e.g., clay, loam, several grains), and moisture contents; (4) to develop a method to obtain the parameters for the cohesion contact model to represent specific materials. A DEM model was developed that can represent both plastic and cohesive behavior of soil. Soil cohesive behavior was achieved by considering tensile force between elements. The developed DEM model well represented the effect of wedge shape on soil behavior and reaction force. Laboratory test results showed that wedge penetration resistance in highly compacted soil was two times greater than that in low compacted soil, whereas DEM simulation with parameters obtained from the test of low compacted soil could not simply be extended to that of high compacted soil. The modified model took into account soil failure strength that could be changed with soil compaction. A three dimensional representation composed of normal displacement, shear failure strength and tensile failure strength was proposed to design mechanical properties between elements. The model based on the liquid bridge theory. An inter particle tension force measurement tool was developed and calibrated A comprehensive study of the parameters of the contact model for the DEM taking into account the cohesive/water-bridge was performed on various agricultural grains using this measurement tool. The modified DEM model was compared and validated against the test results. With the newly developed model and procedure for determination of DEM parameters, we could reproduce the high compacted soil behavior and reaction forces both qualitatively and quantitatively for the soil conditions and wedge shapes used in this study. Moreover, the effect of wedge shape on soil behavior and reaction force was well represented with the same parameters. During the research we made use of the commercial PFC3D to analyze soil tillage implements. An investigation was made of three different head drillers. A comparison of three commonly used soil tillage systems was completed, such as moldboard plow, disc plow and chisel plow. It can be concluded that the soil condition after plowing by the specific implement can be predicted by the DEM model. The chisel plow is the most economic tool for increasing soil porosity. The moldboard is the best tool for soil manipulation. It can be concluded that the discrete element simulation can be used as a reliable engineering tool for soil-implement interaction quantitatively and qualitatively.