Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Physical Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Limnology, Water Resources, Environmental Sciences & Ecology, Marine & Freshwater Biology, FALLING RATE PERIOD, POROUS-MEDIA, HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY, WATER DISTRIBUTION, RESONANCE, MODEL, MRI, TRANSPORT, RELAXOMETRY, SURFACE, 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience, 0905 Civil Engineering, 0907 Environmental Engineering, Environmental Engineering, 3707 Hydrology, 4005 Civil engineering, 4011 Environmental engineering

Abstract:

Near-surface soil moisture profiles contain important information about the evaporation process from a bare soil. In this study, we demonstrated that such profiles could be monitored noninvasively and with high spatial resolution using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). Soil moisture profiles were measured in a column exposed to evaporation for a period of 67 days using a stationary Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) high field scanner and a unilateral NMR sensor. The column was packed with medium sand and initially saturated. Two distinct shapes of soil moisture profiles that are characteristic for stage I (evaporation rate is controlled by atmospheric demand) and stage II (evaporation rate is controlled by the porous medium) of the evaporation process were followed by both MRI and unilateral NMR. During stage I, an approximately uniform decrease of soil moisture over time was monitored, whereas during stage II, S-shaped moisture profiles developed which receded progressively into the soil column. These promising results and the specific design of the unilateral NMR system make it very well suited for determining soil moisture profiles in the field. © 2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.