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Measurement of soil water content in a hyper‐arid environment using time‐domain reflectometry sensors
Author(s) -
Ishizuka Masahide,
Mikami Masao
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/hyp.5989
Subject(s) - reflectometry , arid , calibration , water content , environmental science , remote sensing , soil science , soil water , time domain , range (aeronautics) , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , materials science , geotechnical engineering , computer science , mathematics , composite material , computer vision , paleontology , statistics
Time‐domain reflectometry (TDR) sensors have been widely used in many fields for measurement of soil water content. However, few TDR sensors have been used in a hyper‐arid environment (e.g. less than 0·05 m 3 m −3 ), and such sensor applicability is not yet confirmed. In this study we examine θ − t and θ − ε bulk relations and temperature dependency for natural sand and glass beads in a laboratory using commercially available TDR sensors. As a result, this study clarifies that TDR sensors are applicable even in a hyper‐arid environment when calibration was properly made. We also focus on a specific range of soil water content, which leads to a highly precise calibration equation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.