I need to determine the amount of water in the depth of a soil layer (for example each 20 centimeters) beneath a special point on a surface. A layer of asphalt materials covers the soil layer.
Does the GPR method can do that. Is there any other in situ, non-destructive and non-expensive method?
Thanks
I cannot comment on GPR. I have seen results, and do not believe it show moisture differences or water table. If you can withstand installing drilling a hole and installing pipe or forcing a core pipe into the substrate, we used a Troxler brand nuclear probe that could be lowered to various depths to get soil moisture readings. This was used 45 years ago at catchment 4 at University of Missouri Experimental Forest, and we had several dozens pipes installed 2-3 m in depth. I don't know costs now, but probably several thousand dollars. We also had a Troxler nuclear surface moisture meter that you could put on a surface, but it would give a composite of the surface down to maybe 0.5 m perhaps. You could get moisture, and density.
Since the area no longer gets surface input since it is covered by asphalt, perhaps if you had adjacent area water table heights, and substrate materials, someone a lot smarter that me might be able to predict how much the water table could influence various layers. I do remember a small, square moisture detector with a couple wires, that would be buried at various depths and soil refilled with each depth. But you would have to find a way to install horizontally, and may disrupt what you want to know.
Another idea in case this is a main highway or a hazardous waste site, perhaps you could replicate the construction, compaction and asphalt on an adjacent area, install instruments in the process, and monitor that in an effort to represent the site that must not be disturbed.
The tools have improved to study various subjects, and I am not up to speed on advancements that might apply to this. The word determine suggests to me the desire to actually know, be able to measure. Using remote sensing such as GPR and models of groundwater flow and forces to elevate moisture vertically through substrates depend on quality data specific to conditions.
I suggest you carry out Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) sounding if you can lay your hand on a NMR equipment. It could could give you the amount of water at depths.
Ground Penetration radar cannot gave you direct results for moisture content. Only if you have data for correlation with some direct mesaurements, you can get some aproximate correlation. On the other hand, with GPR you can determine structure of the soil also indirectly.
Dear Moruffdeen,
Taking into account that measuring water content in some intervals in the soil depth is of a great importance to, do you think it would be possible by using NMR?
Thank you for your response.
Dear Ebrahim, We did a study to capture landfill leachate plumes via surface resistivity. I am sending you its outcome for your information. Hope this will help you. Good luck.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09593330.2014.963697
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Agricultural Science
- Soil Science
- Soil Analysis