Soil Science & Soil Moisture

Campbell Scientific instruments are used in a wide variety of soil-science applications. Multiple sensors can be networked in hard-wired or wireless systems to create soil-moisture profiles, while portable, hand-held systems can make point measurements to verify irrigation scheduling or to perform site surveys. Campbell soil sensor products are key to agricultural research, irrigation scheduling, forestry, watershed studies, leak detection, slope stability, and many other disciplines.

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Dataloggers used in Soil Science

Our measurement systems are based around programmable dataloggers that measure the sensors, then process, store, and transmit the data. We offer a family of reliable battery-powered dataloggers that have wide operating temperature ranges and ample input channels for commonly used sensors. Our dataloggers interface directly to most sensors, eliminating external signal conditioning. If needed, channel capacity can be expanded using multiplexers.

Our dataloggers also feature programmable scan rates, measurement types, and recording intervals and provide onboard statistical and mathematical functions for on-site data management.

Sensors used in Soil Science Measurements

We can measure nearly every commercially available soil sensor, including tensiometers, heat flux plates, thermocouples, psychrometers, lysimeters, and gypsum blocks. See the Soil Water Content and Soil Water Matric Potential links at right for more information about the quality sensors we manufacture.

Communications

The availability of multiple telecommunications and on-site options for retrieving data also allows systems to be customized to meet exact needs. Options include: voice-synthesized phone, telephone, cellphone, satellite, radio, ethernet, short haul, meteorburst, coaxial cable, and storage module. Systems can be programmed to send alarms or report site conditions by calling out to computers, phones, radios, or pagers. Real-time or historical data can be displayed or processed with Campbell Scientific software. Data can also be exported as ASCII files for further processing by spreadsheets, databases, or analysis programs.

Soil Water Content

We measure soil water content using methods that are sensitive to soil dielectric constant. Our TDR100-based system uses proven time-domain reflectometry (TDR) to accurately and reliably measure soil volumetric water content and bulk electrical conductivity in soils over a wide range of textures and soluble salt concentrations. This system uses coaxial multiplexers to connect the TDR100 to up to 512 TDR probes. The TDR100 features lower current demand and a typical measurement time of two seconds. The operating temperature range of -25° to +50°C covers typical applications as well as monitoring frost depth. Windows support software provides setup, troubleshooting, and display of waveforms and measurements. A customized 16" x 18" environmental enclosure is configured to easily mount and protect a CR1000 datalogger or CR3000 datalogger, 12 volt power supply, TDR100, and 8-channel multiplexer.

The CS650 and CS655 are multiparameter smart sensors that use innovative techniques to monitor soil volumetric water content, bulk electrical conductivity, and temperature. They estimate soil-water content for a wide range of mineral soils. Measurements are corrected for effects of soil texture and electrical conductivity.

If you need a profile of the soil water content, the EasyAG and EnviroSCAN sensors are an ideal solution to measure soil moisture at multiple depths. Easy to install, the probes have a measurement range from oven dry to saturation. Integrating the probes into a data acquisition system allows the data to be telemetered back to a field station or remote computer.

For portable volumetric water content measurements, the hand-held HS2 HydroSense® II consists of a probe and output display. It can be easily carried from site to site and provides immediate soil water content readings.

Soil Water Matric Potential

Sensors from Campbell Scientific that measure soil water matric potential use heat dissipation and electrical resistance methods. The 229-L Matric Potential Sensor covers a water potential range from -10 J/kg to -104 J/kg by using the temperature response of a heating element embedded in a ceramic matrix. A constant current source is available for reliable and precise heating. Sixteen 229-L sensors are easily multiplexed to a single datalogger differential input channel using a multiplexer. Watermark and Delmhorst electrical resistance sensors provide an inexpensive method of measuring smaller matric potential ranges.