INTERFACING SOIL MOISTURE GYPSUM BLOCKS WITH A MODERN DATA-LOGGING SYSTEM USING A SIMPLE, LOW-COST, DC METHOD
- 1 November 1983
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wolters Kluwer Health in Soil Science
- Vol. 136 (5) , 322-324
- https://doi.org/10.1097/00010694-198311000-00007
Abstract
Gypsum blocks are useful in field studies of soil moisture as low-cost, if only moderately precise, sensors of soil tension that can be used over a wide range of tensions, unlike manometer or pressure transducer sensors, which are limited to the lower ranges of tension. The development was to enable gypsum blocks to be read by a modern data-logging system. It differs from conventional AC methods in using a short-duration DC pulse, thus permitting a simple, low-cost circuit of high stability to be used. The work was done originally to detect the passage of wetting fronts in an arid climate; its application is, however, general.This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Movement of water and nitrate in the unsaturated zone of Upper Chalk near Winchester, Hants., EnglandJournal of Hydrology, 1980