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Measuring Unsaturated Soil Moisture Flow With a Meter¹

ABSTRACT

A meter for measuring unsaturated soil moisture flow was constructed and tested in the laboratory. The meter was made from a single porous plate mounted in a thin brass cylinder. Flow through the meter was calculated from measurements of hydraulic head loss in the porous ceramic plate. The unit was calibrated in silt loam, silty clay, and loamy sand soils under nonisothermal but steady state conditions. It responded to water vapor flow induced by thermal gradients, as well as to liquid flow. Transient tests made in the silt loam soil indicated that it is possible to calibrate the meter under such conditions. Design analysis indicates that increasing the length of the cylinder reduces the sensitivity of the meter's calibration to changes in soil moisture content.

¹ Contribution from the Northwest Branch, Soil & Water Conservation Research Division, ARS, USDA; Idaho Agr. Exp. Sta. cooperating.

² Research Soil Scientist, Snake River Conservation Research Center, Kimberly, Idaho 83341.

Received for publication June 18, 1969. Accepted for publication September 12, 1969.